Will the Djoker prevail against his long-time rival?

Madrid’s Manzanares Park Tennis Centre is commonly known as “La Caja Mágica” (the magic box). And it promises to be magical in one of the most important clay-court tournaments of the tennis season as early as the round of 16, because for the first time in five years, two old rivals and tennis legends will meet again: Novak Djokovic vs. Andy Murray.

While the Serbian high-flyer ensured he will definitely stay at number one in the ATP world rankings with an easy 2-0 win over Gael Monfils, the Scot somewhat surprisingly beat two heavyweights in Dominic Thiem and Denis Shapovalov on his way to the last 16. In the run-up to the clash between Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, the odds are clearly in favour of Djokovic.

The Scot has already recorded eleven wins against the Serb. In view of the fact that Andy Murray has not been able to return to his top form in the course of his comeback, he nevertheless goes into the match as a clear underdog.

Therefore, it is very coherent to bet on a comparatively easy victory for the Serbian in Novak Djokovic against Andy Murray, which is likely to be achieved in a maximum of 20 games. However, by playing the sub-bet, the possibility of a clear surprise victory by the Scot is automatically covered.

Novak Djokovic – Statistics & current form

Current world ranking: 1
Position in the seedings: 1

The 34-year-old Serb Novak Djokovic was unable to take part in the Australian Open after being denied a visa and, after a brief guest appearance in Dubai, only really got into the ATP Tour 2022 at the start of the clay court season.

There, the Djoker experienced a nasty surprise at the Monte Carlo Masters when he lost 2-1 to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (ATP 46) in his opening match. Just one week later in Belgrade, the world number one was back in the final.

Three overall wins at the Madrid Open

While Djokovic missed out on his first singles title of the year with a 1-2 loss to Rublev. Nevertheless, 20-time Grand Slam winner could return to the form that just led him to all four Grand Slam finals in 2021.

In Madrid, where Nole has already won three overall and 28 of his 36 singles in 2011, 2016 and 2019, the Serb was even fully convincing in his 2-0 opening win over Gael Monfils. The world number one surrendered just five games, and with this 29th victory at the Caja Mágica, he will definitely remain at the top of the ATP world rankings.

Won five of six singles on clay against Murray

While his 2022 got off to a complicated start, with six wins and three losses from just nine singles played, it remains far from easy. Nevertheless, against an old rival who has been in a much worse state for some time, the Djoker goes into the match as the clear favourite.

Andy Murray – statistics & current form

Current world ranking: 78
Seeded List Position: Wildcard

The 34-year-old Scot Andy Murray has already reached eleven Grand Slam finals in his career. The man from Glasgow has won the singles title three times at these tournaments.

Thus, as part of the “Big Four”, he was always seen on a par with Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and his current opponent Novak Djokovic. However, since he had to interrupt the 2017 season due to an injury, the former world number one is not the same anymore.

Not past the third round of a major in five years

The Scot, who even announced his career end after the 2019 Wimbledon Championships at the beginning of 2019, has made his comeback on the ATP Tour a total of three times so far.

The two-time Olympic champion was only able to shine in autumn 2019, when he secured his 46th and to date last singles title on the ATP Tour at an ATP tournament in Antwerp. At major tournaments, meanwhile, he has always been eliminated at the latest in the third round since 2017.

Surprise victories over Thiem and Shapovalov

Meanwhile, hardly anyone was counting on the Briton in the clay court season either, who already announced that he would sit out the French Open in order to prepare optimally for Wimbledon. It is all the more surprising that Murray took the wild card for Madrid and was able to defeat two absolute top stars of the ATP Tour, Dominic Thiem and Denis Shapovalov.

With these two victories, the Scot has won twelve matches from 20 singles matches played in 2022 and will make up further ground in the rankings regardless of the outcome of the tournament. However, given that clay has never been his surface, Novak Djokovic’s chances of another coup against Andy Murray are not good.

Novak Djokovic – Andy Murray Direct Comparison / H2H Balance

Head to head: 25:11

The two long-term rivals have faced each other 36 times so far and the Djoker leads the head-to-head comparison with 25 wins. The Serb is 5-1 in five clay-court encounters and also won their last meeting to date 2-1 in the final of the ATP Doha 2017.

Novak Djokovic – Andy Murray Tip

When it comes to Novak Djokovic vs Andy Murray, the prediction goes to the world number one. Not only does the Djoker have a clear 5:1 lead over the Scot on clay, but Murray, who is still not performing at his former level, has never been too adept on clay anyway. The Briton has already surprised with victories over Thiem and Shapovalov in Madrid. However, everything now points to the end of the line for the three-time Grand Slam winner.

We recommend betting that this duel will last a maximum of 20 games before the winner is decided. By leaving the question open as to whether the Djoker will really pull off the expected easy victory, this bet covers the eventuality that the Briton will cause another sensation.