"I'm always fascinated by watching the way that Andy Murray attempts to problem solve" - Andy Roddick on Brit's chances ahead of Canadian Open 1R clash against Taylor Fritz
Former World No. 1 Andy Murray will lock horns with top-ranked American Taylor Fritz in a highly-anticipated first-round encounter at the 2022 Canadian Open on Tuesday.
Previewing the encounter for the Tennis Channel, Murray's fellow former No. 1 player Andy Roddick described it as a "pretty good" match-up for Fritz. Roddick said that while Murray will have to play at a high level to challenge the young American, he was always impressed by the Brit's ability to problem solve.
Roddick pointed out that Murray's level was not the best in recent tournaments at New Port and Washington, whereas Fritz was "locked in" for the last couple of months.
"Well, Taylor Fritz. I think this is actually pretty good matchup for him," Roddick said. "Now, he's gonna get a lot of balls to hit. I'm always fascinated by watching the way that Andy Murray attempts to problem solve. So frankly, with Murray, I would say, he is gonna have to play better than he did in newport than he did in Washington."
"Not his best form in those two tournaments," he continued. "So he is still searching for something, while Fritz has had confidence kind of locked in for the last couple of months."
Speaking about the keys to the match, Roddick said Murray will need to make a lot of first serves as he expected Fritz to pounce on his second serve. He also gave the American an edge in his own service games.
"One thing that that Murray is gonna have to do is make first serves, because Taylor Fritz is getting a bunch of seconds, he's gonna be able to take a full swings, full cuts, and take advantage early in the rallies," he said.
"I like Fritz getting through his service games, a little bit easier than Murray tomorrow," he added. "That might be the difference. But always fascinating to see how Murray tries to navigate his way through a match."
Andy Murray, Taylor Fritz look to regain momentum ahead of US Open
Both Andy Murray and Taylor Fritz made early exits at last week's Citi Open. While Fritz retired in the third set of his match against Dan Evans as he trailed 4-1, Murray suffered a tight three-set defeat at the hands of Mikael Ymer in the opening round.
Heading into the year's final Slam at the US Open, both players will be hoping to regain their form in Montreal. The duo have landed in the loaded bottom half of the draw, which also features the likes of Carlos Alcaraz and Stefanos Tsitsipas.