Indian Wells 2024: Andy Murray vs Andrey Rublev; Preview, Prediction and Head-to-Head

Andy Murray is looking to make a comeback after a disastrous run in the previous tournaments this year. Whereas, Andrey Rublev is keen to get over his disappointing exit from Dubai last week. Murray has started off his campaign at the Indian Wells with a win against Belgium’s David Goffin. Can he outclass the in-form Russian in his next match?

Well, Andy Murray’s future has been put under scrutiny after a series of disappointing results in his last few matches. He has won just 2 out of his 8 matches before the BNP Paribas Open. However, the Brit’s latest victory against Goffin, made him the only player to have been the ranked world no.1 and never be defeated by David Goffin. Let’s see what Murray vs. Rublev looks like.

Andy Murray vs Andrey Rublev: Preview

The legendary British tennis player has been dealing with several injuries over the last few years. Despite his 46 titles in his singles career, including 3 Grand Slam triumphs, Indian Wells is one of very few Masters 1000 events that Andy Murray has failed to win in his illustrious career.

Andy Murray made a dull start at the Brisbane International, then lost in the first round of the AO to Tomas Martin Etcheverry. He faced a couple of similar first-round exits in two more tournaments before finally making it to the R16 in the Qatar Open. Then in the Dubai Tennis Championships, he lost to Ugo Humbert in the R16 by 2-6,4-6. However, he started with a win in the first round of the Indian Wells. 

Whereas, Andrey Rublev had a dream start to his 2024 campaign. He started with a title win at the Hong Kong Open and then reached the QF of the AO. The world number 5 then made a couple more QF runs before making it to the SF of Dubai Tennis Championships. But in the semis against his long-time friend Alexander Bublik, he got disqualified for unsportsmanlike conduct.

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Andy Murray recently made a comment saying he believes players need to be more careful about how they speak to officials. Will this comment add a new dimension to this epic clash on Friday?

Murray vs Rublev: Head-to-Head

Both of them have previously met each other twice on the Tour. Currently, they share the head-to-head battle with a 1-1 margin. Who will get the edge this time around?

Well, looking at the statistics, Rublev has an overall 449-24 record with a 177-89 record on the hard courts. Whereas, Andy Murray has an overall 3-6 win-loss record in 2024 with a 3-4 on the hard courts. Andrey Rublev’s best performance in Indian Wells came in 2022 when he reached the semi-finals. However, Murray’s best outing here came way back in 2009 when he reached the finals of the tournament.

Both of them are very keen to prove their doubters wrong but sadly there’s going to be only one winner. Who has the upper hand in this intriguing match?

Prediction: Rublev to win in straight sets

Andy Murray hasn’t defeated a Top 10 player since June 2022. In fact, Murray hasn’t progressed past the third round in any tournament this year. Rublev on the other hand, hasn’t lost prior to the QF of any tournament this year. His win-loss record for 2024 is currently 14-4. 

The former world number one has failed to win two consecutive matches since September last year. So, looking at all these stats and their current form, Rublev may get an edge in this match. However, still, it’d be foolish to completely rule out the chances of an experienced campaigner like Andy Murray. What are your predictions for this match?

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