Indian Wells 2021: Alexander Zverev vs Andy Murray preview, head-to-head & prediction | BNP Paribas Open
Match details
Fixture: (3) Alexander Zverev vs (WC) Andy Murray
Date: 12 October 2021
Tournament: BNP Paribas Open
Round: Third round (Round of 32)
Venue: Indian Wells, USA
Category: ATP 1000
Surface: Hardcourt
Prize money: $8,761,725
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel & ESPN | UK - Amazon Prime Video
Alexander Zverev vs Andy Murray preview
Third seed Alexander Zverev will take on three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray in the third round of the 2021 Indian Wells Masters.
Zverev and Murray both ousted rising stars in their respective second-round matches. While the German accounted for Jenson Brooksby, Murray upset US Open breakout star Carlos Alcaraz.
Zverev was made to work for his win though; the 24-year-old needed nearly two hours to get past Brooksby. Zverev managed to win a relatively low 73% of his first-serve points, which is a far cry from his usual lofty figures.
Brooksby broke serve twice during the course of the match but lost his own serve four times, which proved to be the decisive factor. Zverev also racked up 28 winners, which was 11 more than the American's final tally. That said, the reigning Cincinnati champion did cough up as many as 35 unforced errors.
Brooksby committed 14 fewer errors, but the fact that he couldn't hit past the German with frequency cost him the match.
Andy Murray, meanwhile, came from a set down to knock out Carlos Alcaraz. Murray won 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 to make it to the third round of the BNP Paribas Open for the ninth time in his career.
Alcaraz outhit Murray from the baseline for large parts of the match, racking up 36 winners to the Scot's 18. However, Murray committed 13 fewer unforced errors than the Spaniard.
UNDERARM ACE 😳
@andy_murray #BNPPO21 https://t.co/PjJCfrlHHd
The three-time Major champion even took a page out of the Nick Kyrgios playbood midway through the match. In a bid to take advantage of the fact that Alcaraz was camped well behind the baseline on the return, Murray unfurled an under-arm serve in the second set - which ended up being an ace.
Alexander Zverev vs Andy Murray head-to-head
Andy Murray leads Alexander Zverev by a margin of 2-0 in the head-to-head. Murray defeated Zverev for the first time in the first round of the 2016 Australian Open, winning 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 on that day.
Murray also beat the German at the Cincinnati Masters last year, winning 6-3, 3-6, 7-5.
Alexander Zverev vs Andy Murray prediction
Alexander Zverev enters this match as the favorite, like he is in most matches he plays these days. But Andy Murray cannot be counted out, especially in light of the resilience and defense he displayed against Carlos Alcaraz.
The three-time Major champion is still one of the best returners on tour, even if he is nowhere close to what he used to be during his peak years. As such, Zverev is likely to face a tough time in his service games.
The German will also need to cut down on his unforced errors. Murray's resolute defense could make it tough for Zverev to find winners regularly.
This has all the makings of a close contest, and could well go the distance. But we are backing Zverev to win this one because of the form he has displayed on hardcourts in recent months.
Prediction: Alexander Zverev to win in three sets.
Tournament best two-handed backhand and fastest serve Sascha 🦁🔥🔥
#zverev https://t.co/5kuYHnDNux