Andy Murray vs John Isner Prediction & Betting Tips - Wimbledon Qualification, England

Prediction published on 28/06/2022, 10:04  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 28/06/2022 at 11:05 in ATP Wimbledon Championships Prediction

Andy Murray overcame losing the first set to win the next three and defeat James Duckworth in the Wimbledon first round. He now takes on the 20th seed John Isner, with the winner facing either tenth seeded Jannik Sinner or Mikael Ymer. Murray had his fans worried after losing that opening set against Duckworth. The fear was he'd end up in another five-setter that went on long into the night. That's the last thing he needs this early in the tournament so it was a relief when he reeled off the next three. A long match might be on the cards in the second round though against the big-serving American. Murray reached the final of the Stuttgart grass court event this year but suffered an abdominal injury in the final against Matteo Berrettini (out of this event due to COVID-19). He missed the Queen's Club event but didn't look to be in any trouble during the match against Duckworth. He'll hope it stays that way as he does have a decent chance of getting into the second week at Wimbledon. He's got a perfect record against Isner having won all eight previous match-ups. This is their first meeting since 2016 though and the debut match on grass. Those eight previous matches have included eight tie-breaks being played.

John Isner is the world number 24 (28 places higher than his opponent) and had to go to five sets in the first round. He had plenty of problems against the qualifier Enzo Couacaud. Isner trailed one set to love and two sets to one before recovering to get the win. It being an Isner match, there was of course a tie-break played, two in fact plus the final set going to 7-5. He also had 54 aces in that match and is only 40 away from the all-time Wimbledon record. Isner first played this tournament in 2008 but aside from a semi-final in 2018, his best performance is three times in the third round. He's won four grass court championships, all of them being in the Hall of Fame Open in the USA that's played after Wimbledon. His last win in that event was three years ago. It's not been the best of years for Isner with only a final in Houston (on clay) and semi-final in a hard court event in Dallas as the highlights. His form outside of the USA needs to be improved on. This won't be easy for Murray with Isner unlikely to be doing any underhand serves. He can get the win though but also have a side bet on there being a tie-break in the match.