As the 2024 Qatar ExxonMobil Open slowly moves along, several fixtures in the second round are getting shape. The other day, Alexei Popyrin beat Abedallah Shelbayh, proving The SportsRush’s prediction correct. Now, it’s time for another first round clash – Alexandre Muller vs Andy Murray. Muller, who qualified for the ATP Tour by beating Alexander Ritschard, will face Andy Murray now.
The Alexandre Muller vs Andy Murray match will take place on the outdoor hard center court of the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha, Qatar. The match will start at 6:00 pm local time (10 AM ET) on Tuesday, February 20.
Alexandre Muller has been a professional tennis player since 2017. His best Grand Slam performance was the second-round finish at the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2021 and 2023 respectively. With an international rank of 71, Muller only broke into the Top 75, after reaching the the ASB Classic quarter-final this year. Muller also reached his first ATP final at the 2023 Grand Prix Hassan II last year. Incidentally, he lost to Andy Murray last year at the Qatar Open and would look for revenge this year.
Andy Murray, on the other hand, has been a legend of the game for so many years. Three Grand Slam titles (2 Wimbledon and 1 US Open), 2 Olympic Gold medals, 46 career titles, and countless final appearances, are just some of his best achievements. Andy Murray definitively blows Alexandre Muller out of the water in the contest of statistics.
But sports isn’t only about statistics and records. Murray’s form of late hasn’t been great, which even invited stark criticism from a BBC journalist. During this time, his former on-court rival and friend Andy Roddick came out in Murray’s support. The journalist criticized Murray’s age after some of his disappointing results in recent times.
Andy Murray did not fare that well in recent times. He was out in the Round of 32 in the last two ATP Opens – The Open 13 and Open Sud de France losing to Tomas Machac 7-5, 6-4 and to Benoit Paire 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 3-6. He also failed to reach the second round of the Australian Open 2024, where he lost to Tomas Etcheveryy 4-6, 2-6, 2-6. With all of that in consideration, The Sports Rush predicts Alexandre Muller to win the Alexandre Muller vs Andy Murray contest.
Alexandre Muller vs Andy Murray prediction and other details
Andy Murray ranks 50th, which is better than Alexandre Muller’s rank. Also, on top of that, the only time they met before was at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open 2023, where Murray beat Muller 4-6, 6-1, 6-2. There is no doubt that Murray is a stronger opponent than Muller.
But going by recent form and how Murray has been struggling of late, it seems more probable that Alexandre Muller might win the match. As per BetMGM, Muller is favored over Murray. The odds for Muller are -125 and for Murray are +100.
The Alexandre Muller vs Andy Murray match will stream live online on Tennis TV. The American audience can watch it on the Tennis Channel and the UK viewers can watch it on Sky Sports. The weather in Doha, Qatar has been moderately good. It will remain 26 degrees Celsius with a wind speed of 24 km/h and humidity of 48%. It should be a thrilling contest.
