Australian Open 2023: Roberto Bautista Agut vs Andy Murray preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (24) Roberto Bautista Agut vs Andy Murray.
Date: January 21, 2023.
Tournament: Australian Open 2023.
Round: Third round (Round of 32).
Venue: Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia.
Category: Grand Slam.
Surface: Hard.
Prize Money: A$76,500,000.
Live telecast: USA - ESPN | UK - Eurosport | India - Sony Six, Sony Ten & Sony Liv.
Roberto Bautista Agut vs Andy Murray preview
World No. 25 Roberto Bautista Agut will take on three-time Major champion Andy Murray in the third round of the 2023 Australian Open on Saturday.
Bautista Agut defeated Joao Sousa in straight sets to make it to the second round. He then took on qualifier Brandon Holt, the son of former Grand Slam champion Tracy Austin.
Bautista Agut found himself in a pickle as he lost the first couple of sets. The American youngster was giving the veteran a run for his money. However, the Spaniard soon got his act together and staged a comeback. The 34-year-old led 5-0 in the third set, but Holt went on a three-game run to turn the tide in his favor.
Bautista Agut regrouped quickly and served out the set on his second try. Holt faded away after that, as the Spaniard claimed the next two sets as well to complete a 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 comeback win.
Murray, meanwhile, won a five-set thriller against Matteo Berrettini to kick off his Australian Open 2023 challenge in style. He was then up against home favorite Thanasi Kokkinakis in the second round.
Although the Brit played really well from the start, he still came up short to lose the first couple of sets. He trailed 2-0 even in the third set, but managed to retrieve the break. Kokkinakis once again went up a break and was 5-2 up, but Murray managed to level the score and take the set to a tie-break.
The former World No. 1 held his nerve to win the tie-break and keep himself in contention. Murray secured the decisive break in the sixth game of the fourth set to clinch it. Both players were evenly matched in the final set, but the momentum was firmly on the 35-year-old's side by then.
Murray needed four break points to finally break Kokkinakis' serve in the 11th game. He then served out the match to wrap up a memorable 4-6, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (5), 6-3, 7-5 victory.
Roberto Bautista Agut vs Andy Murray head-to-head
The two have split their previous six meetings evenly to tie the head-to-head at 3-3. Bautista Agut won their last match at the 2022 Swiss Indoors in straight sets.
Roberto Bautista Agut vs Andy Murray odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Roberto Bautista Agut vs Andy Murray prediction
Murray staged a comeback for the ages with his win over Kokkinakis in the second round. He rolled back the years with the way he played. The Brit went toe-to-toe in the rallies and simply got better as the match went on.
Bautista Agut needed five sets to defeat Holt in the previous round, but didn't exert himself as much. Murray has spent more than 10 hours competing already and there are concerns about how he'll recover after a late-night finish.
Bautista Agut's counterpunching skills have proven to be too much for Murray to handle these days. But the Brit's fighting spirit has been on display this week, so no matter what, it's hard to rule him out.
Of their six encounters so far, Murray claimed the first three. The next one was a five-set battle won by Bautista Agut at the 2019 Australian Open. However, the Spaniard has won their last two matches quite handily and the outcome is likely to be the same this time as well.
Pick: Roberto Bautista Agut to win in four sets.