Matteo Berrettini vs Andy Murray Prediction & Betting Tips - ATP Australian Open

Prediction published on 16/01/2023, 05:39  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 16/01/2023 at 07:58 in Tennis Predictions

Not being in the top 32 has again seen Andy Murray being given a tough first round draw. The Scot takes on the 13th seed Matteo Berretini who has already shown some good form this year. Whoever wins this match will face either Thanasi Kokkinakis or Fabio Fognini in the second round. Not since Wimbledon in 2017 has Andy Murray got past the third round of a Grand Slam event. He played three Grand Slams last year and lost in the second round of all of them. His current world ranking is 66th (he was 49th at the start of the year) and he's down to 69th in the live rankings. This year has seen him play just one tournament. That was the first Adelaide International event and he lost in his first match to Sebastian Korda in straight sets. Murray won the first of four previous meetings with Berrettini but has lost each of the three that have followed. Two have been on grass and the most recent in the 2022 US Open.

Matteo Berrettini began this tournament ranked 14th but is 21st in the live rankings. That's because he's defending the points that were won when reaching the Australian Open semi-final last year. The Italian was as high as sixth last year but again had injury and illness problems. Losing the points earned by reaching the 2021 Wimbledon final caused a drop down the rankings. Only two Grand Slam events were played by him last year but in addition to his semi-final in Australia, he got to the last eight of the US Open. Berrettini has made it to at least the quarter finals in each of the last five Grand Slam events he's played. So far in 2023, Berrettini has only played for Italy in the United Cup. He won three of his five matches including a win over Casper Ruud. His two defeats were inflicted by Stefanos Tsitsipas and Taylor Fritz. He can get a win over Murray here.