Andy Murray played his best match of the season so far against David Goffin in the first round of the Indian Wells Open, and up next, he will take on Andrey Rublev.
Goffin might be a big name, but the Belgian has struggled with his level recently. His run through the qualifying at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Indian Wells was pretty decent, with some good wins, but he really didn't play a good match against Murray.
To be fair, the Brit played a pretty strong match overall, and by far, it was his best this year. He was very aggressive and was hitting some incredible angles with his shots.
Goffin couldn't find any kind of breakthrough on a court that certainly does play much more like Murray likes it. It's slow and bounces high, which gives him a chance to really grind down his opponents.
That's what happened to Goffin, who was comfortably bested in two sets. Now, it's about doing that against Rublev, but will he?
Murray and Rublev haven't played that many times so far, as we've only seen three matches. The most recent one was an exhibition match in Abu Dhabi three years ago, so as you can see, it's been a long time since they played.
It is no use going over those matches because the situation is vastly different right now. In spite of the win against Goffin, Murray's been a rather pale season. Rublev has been pretty good, and while the matchup is somewhat tricky for him, I expect him to cruise.
| Andy Murray | Andrey Rublev | |
| 1 | H2H | 1 |
| 61 | Rank | 5 |
| 36 | Age | 26 |
| 2-6 | 2024 W/L | 14-4 |
| 735-256 | Career W/L | 306-162 |
They simply are not on the same level right now, and the Russian is far better. Yes, he can still lose but I'd be pretty shocked if he's not able to overcome this match.
Prediction: Andrey Rublev to win in two sets.