The Big Four At Roland Garros – Andy Murray
The draw for the 2015 French Open was made on Friday and it certainly threw up some interesting match-ups and conversation points for the fans.
While Rafael Nadal has fallen outside of the world’s top four for the seeding of this tournament, he is still certainly one of the main candidates to lift the trophy on the 7th of June, given his history in this competition and his overall pedigree on clay.
Therefore, the “Big Four” are still a force to be reckoned with and the main contenders every time a Grand Slam comes around, but how are they shaping up coming into Roland Garros this year?
Here we shall analyse the chances of Andy Murray, who will be looking for his maiden French Open title in Paris.
How’s His Form?
Coming into the French Open, Murray’s form and fitness is as good as it has ever been at this time of year.
Clay is certainly not the world number three’s favourite surface by any means and he has struggled to put together any real sort of form on the dirt in years gone by, while his back has caused him troubles in the past on such a demanding court as well.
However, this year is a different matter – surgery on his back last year coupled with a sustained run of form in the build-up tournaments to Roland Garros mean that Murray is coming into the second major of the year with huge levels of confidence, which hasn’t always been the case.
The man from Dunblane secured a tight victory over home favourite Philipp Kohlschreiber in the final of Munich, before a massively impressive straight sets triumph over Rafael Nadal in front of the Spaniard’s adoring fans in Madrid secured his first ever Masters 1000 title on clay and first win over Nadal on the surface as well.
He sat out of Rome due to fatigue, but the bottom line is that the 28-year-old is unbeaten on the dirt so far this season – can he keep that going for seven more matches over the next fortnight?
Previous Record At Roland Garros
Murray hasn’t exactly pulled up any trees at the French Open, not managing to capitalise on the exits of both Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in 2009 as he succumbed to Fernando Gonzalez in the quarter-finals in what could have been his year to shine in the French capital.
He has missed the tournament on two separate occasions, in 2007 and 2013 respectively due to injury, and has only reached the last four times, in 2011 and 2014.
In both of those years he came up against the eventual winner in the shape of Rafael Nadal, while losses to Gael Monfils, Nicolas Almagro, Gonzalez, Tomas Berdych and David Ferrer in earlier rounds make unpleasant reading on Murray’s stats sheet at Roland Garros.
How’s His Draw?
If Murray is to upset the odds and claim a French Open title, he will have to battle his way through some dangerous players en route.
Facundo Arguello should pose no problems in his first match, but from there on in things start to get very tough for the Scot.
The upcoming and dangerous duo of Vasek Pospisil and Nick Kyrgios lie in wait in the next two rounds should everything go according to plan, before big-serving John Isner is seeded to face him in the last-16.
Should the world number three negotiate those sharks in the water, he could come up against a man whom he has never beaten on clay in the quarter-finals – David Ferrer. The dogged Spaniard beat him in Paris three years ago and will be eager to inflict the same treatment on the Scot once more.
Novak Djokovic or Rafael Nadal will surely await him in the last four, while 2009 champion Roger Federer could be his final opponent. The danger those names pose hardly needs any discussion.
Murray is going to need to recreate the stunning form he has shown in the clay-court season thus far if he is to be crowned 2015 French Open champion. And then some.
What Are His Chances?
As has been mentioned above, the luck of the draw has not been on Murray’s side, so his opportunities of winning his first Slam on clay have been diminished somewhat by the tough draw he has been handed.
However, the Scot seems more settled both on and off the court in recent weeks following his marriage to Kim Sears and his form is as good as it has ever been coming into Paris.
There is no pressure on him whatsoever, so this tournament is somewhat of a free hit for him – he can play with freedom knowing he is playing well but that if he doesn’t lift the trophy on June 7th, no tears will be shed by him, his camp or his supporters in Great Britain.
Based on what we have seen on the dirt so far in 2015, behind Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray certainly looks the most likely man to win this year’s Roland Garros.