General / Ben Caudell / 29 April 2010 /

Andy Murray will have hoped for an easier second match in Rome than today's tussle with David Ferrer, says Ben Caudell

David Ferrer (ESP) v Andy Murray (GBR)
Rome has not been a happy hunting ground over the past few years for this duo.

After reaching the semi-final in 2005, Ferrer managed to break a four match opening round losing streak in Rome with a 6-4 6-1 victory over Evgeny Korolev on Tuesday night, which he followed up with a 7-5 6-2 win over wild card and home favourite Potitio Starace yesterday.

Murray, on the other hand, has only ever managed to get through a single round in Rome and will be looking to reach the quarter-finals for the first time, he is currently 2-4 at this event.

That record and his poor form makes Murray a big outsider and I have to admit the odds on a win fir the Brit are pretty tasty at [2.32]. However this match is being played on a surface that definitely favours the Spaniard, and Ferrer is understandably the favourite to win this match.

The Valencia resident is co-leader with Andy Roddick for the most match wins on the ATP World Tour this season (26-8) and has the most clay court victories of any player on the tour 20-3. He is coming off back-to-back semi-final efforts in Monte Carlo and Barcelona, losing to Rafael Nadal and Fernando Verdasco respectively and during the Latin American clay court swing he reached the final of Buenos Aires and won a title in Acapulco, both finals were played against Juan Carlos Ferrero.

Murray will be buoyed by his performance in the opening match of the tournament against Andreas Seppi. The 22-year-old looked a lot better both physically and mentally after he spent last week training in Barcelona in an effort to reclaim lost form and hunger for the game. With his new found appetite for tennis, Murray will enjoy the underdog status coming into this match. He will be happy to know that Ferrer is on a nine match losing streak against top 10 players and will undoubtedly be a little fatigued after playing 11 matches since the end of March.

But although Ferrer is in need of a much deserved rest he is also a relentless grinder of games, sets, and points out on his favourite surface. He will be up for this match against Murray and will want to improve on his one win against the Scot (currently 1-1 between the two in head-to-heads).

Selection:
Back David Ferrer @ [1.76] to win match
Back Ferrer - 2.5 Games @ [2.1]

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