Andy Murray beaten in Australian Open second round
By
Former British number one Andy Murray has been
eliminated at the Australian Open after losing to Japan’s Taro Daniel in the
second round of the Grand Slam. Following a decent effort at the Sydney Open in
preparation for this tournament, followers of the Scotsman had hoped to see him
back to his best in Australia. There were even a few whispers that he could go
and win the title, aided by the exclusion of Serbia’s Novak Djokovic but the
test proved a step too far for the injury-plagued star. Despite being hot favorite in the betting with online gambling giant Bovada to defeat Daniel and progress to the third round with a
confidence boosting win, what fans got from Andy was a subdued performance. He
will now return to the drawing board in an attempt to salvage his career.
Murray has the French Open, US Open and the Wimbledon Championships still to
come and he’ll be determined to perform much better in those competitions,
especially on the lawns of London. With Murray taken out in straight sets by a
virtual unknown, the Australian Open men’s pack takes on a whole new look and
feel. Djokovic’s much publicised ban on taking part due to VISA issues
concerning COVID-19 and Murray now travelling home to rest and recover, who
will be the 2022 Australian Open champion? With a competitive field left
behind, it’s anyone’s guess who will come out on top. In this article, we shine
a spotlight on some of the main contenders and look at how the major bookmakers
rate their chances.
Russian star Medvedev the new favorite Daniil Medvedev is the new firm favorite to win the Australian Open and he has already been performing well, winning matches without ever hitting top gear. The 25-year-old Russian is currently ranked number two in the world and although that is his highest achievement in the rankings, there’s popular belief that he will improve a place sooner rather than later. Victory in the Australian Open could be enough to shunt him to the top of the pile and that will be the driving force that keeps the man from Moscow winning. Medvedev has just one Grand Slam victory to his
name so far with the spare coming at the US Open in 2021. That success came hot
on the heels of an impressive performance in Melbourne earlier that year when
making it all the way to the final. It looked like he would finish as champion
of the Australian Open in 2021 but came up just short. The agony of that day
will be fresh in his mind as he pushes hard to finally get over the line and
add his name to an illustrious list of champions. 2021 was a successful year for Daniil who made
it to the quarter finals of the French Open in Paris but managed no better than
the fourth round of the Wimbledon Championships in London. He is a young,
hungry, ambitious and supremely talented tennis player and many experts believe
he will be the next star of the sport. Following the golden age of Murray,
Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer,
could Medvedev be the one to keep tennis going and the crowds packed into
arenas? There is no doubt he has the ability to win the
Australian Open and if that success doesn’t come this year then, surely, it
can’t be too far away. He caught the eye earlier this week when winning his
round of 64 match with Australia’s Kyrgios in four sets. The scoreboard at the
end of that pulsating match read 3-1 in the Russian’s favour and although the
beaten man put up a strong fight, the victor could not be grudged his success. Nadal takes it in his stride Another stand out performer from the second
round of matches was Spain’s Nadal who cruised into the next phase. The
multi-Grand Slam winning player had too much skill, class and experience for
his opponent in midweek, blasting his way to an eye-catching 3-0 victory with
Yannick Hanfmann forced to admit he lost to the much better player. There was no disgrace in that loss for the
German but Nadal now quickly moves on to the next stage and appears to be
gathering pace, confidence and form with the passing of each set in Melbourne.
