Basel 2022: Andy Murray vs Roman Safiullin preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick | Swiss Indoors
Match Details
Fixture: Andy Murray vs Roman Safiullin
Date: October 25, 2022
Tournament: Swiss Indoors 2022
Round: First Round (Round of 32)
Venue: Basel, Switzerland.
Category: ATP 500.
Surface: Hard
Prize money: €2,135,350
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video.
Andy Murray vs Roman Safiullin preview
Andy Murray will face Roman Safiullin in the first round of the Swiss Indoors on Tuesday.
Murray is not the same player he once was but has produced some promising performances so far this season, reaching two finals in Sydney and Stuttgart. His best outing at a Grand Slam was a run to the third round of the US Open, where he lost to Matteo Berrettini.
The 35-year-old most recently competed at the Gijon Open, where he reached the quarterfinals following wins over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Pedro Cachin before losing to Sebastian Korda. Murray was scheduled to compete at the European Open but he later withdrew from the tournament.
Meanwhile, Safiullin's most notable performance so far this season was reaching two ATP 250 semifinals. The first of these came at the Open 13 in Marseille, where he beat Alexei Popyrin, Tomas Machac and Stefanos Tsitsipas before losing to eventual runner-up Felix Auger-Aliassime.
The Russian's second semifinal of the season came at the Tel Aviv Open earlier this month. Here, he defeated Hugo Grenier, Tomas Martin Etcheverry and Arthur Rinderknech before his run was ended by eventual champion Novak Djokovic.
Safiullin played the qualifiers of the Swiss Indoors, posting straight-set wins over Jan-Lennard Struff and Jaume Munar to make the main draw.
Andy Murray vs Roman Safiullin head-to-head
The head-to-head between the two players stands at 0-0 for now as they haven't met before.
Andy Murray vs Roman Safiullin odds
All odds are sourced from BETMGM.
Andy Murray vs Roman Safiullin prediction
Murray will enter the match as the heavy favorite to win given his recent form and experience. However, Safiullin has beaten a few higher-ranked players this season and should not be written off.
Murray has a solid serve and will rely heavily on it for free points. An excellent returner, the Brit will look to put pressure on Safiullin with his powerful groundstrokes. He can defend well but can switch quickly to offense as well, which could come in very handy.
Safiullin's serve will be put to the test by Murray's return game. The Russian needs to produce his A-game and cannot afford to make too many unforced errors if he is to beat Murray.
The former World No. 1 has produced some decent performances lately and should be able to come out on top in this contest.
Pick: Murray to win in straight sets.