I don't think Wawrinka has it in him to follow that big win against Berdych with another solid effort against Murray. If he's lucky, he'll win a set at the most. I think Murray will be ready for this match. Murray played down to his competition against Istomin, the same thing won't happen again. An interesting stat I noticed about Murray while I was calculating his matches in the past grand slams on hardcourts:
During the Australian & US Open of the last year, against players outside of the top four, Murray has covered the 5 games spread in ten of 11 matches. That's a strong 10-1 record vs a 5 games spread on hardcourt slams the past year. When he loses a set, it will be close but he almost always follows it up with a 6-1 6-2 type drubbing the following sets to cover the games spread.
Wawrinka looked impressive against Berdych but like many players outside the top five, following that big win up with another win over one of the big fours is a monumental task. The mental fortitude just isnt there. I see Wawrinka coming out flat for this match and Murray will not want to mess around with another four/five setter when the match against Djokovic is looming this weekend.
Take Murray -5 Games and Under 38 .......Best of Luck.
During the Australian & US Open of the last year, against players outside of the top four, Murray has covered the 5 games spread in ten of 11 matches. That's a strong 10-1 record vs a 5 games spread on hardcourt slams the past year. When he loses a set, it will be close but he almost always follows it up with a 6-1 6-2 type drubbing the following sets to cover the games spread.
Wawrinka looked impressive against Berdych but like many players outside the top five, following that big win up with another win over one of the big fours is a monumental task. The mental fortitude just isnt there. I see Wawrinka coming out flat for this match and Murray will not want to mess around with another four/five setter when the match against Djokovic is looming this weekend.
Take Murray -5 Games and Under 38 .......Best of Luck.