BNP Paribas Open 2021: Andy Murray v/s Alexander Zverev Preview, Who Will Progress Further?

The excitement is starting to increase as we are entering the final stages of the BNP Paribas Open. The fans are excited to watch some of the top rivalries in action. That being said, in the round of 32, two greats of the game will face off against each other. Andy Murray of Britain will take on Alexander Zverev from Germany.

While Andy Murray has dominated the sport for years, Alex Zverev is on the verge of becoming the best player in the world. They will face off against each other in just a few hours. We take a look at the favorite player to progress into the next round and the history between the two players. Who prevailed out on top over the years. Here’s everything that you need to know.

Also read: The US Open Champion Crashes Out at Indian Wells – Emma Raducanu Suffers a Shocking Defeat

Andy Murray v/s Alexander Zverev: Preview

Both the players have performed brilliantly so far in the tournament and would want to keep the momentum going in their favor. While Andy Murray played in the round of 128 as well, his counterpart started the tournament with a round of 64 matches which he won quite comfortably. 

But the year has not gone pretty well for the British considering the fact that he was sidelined for most of the time and his comeback was not that worth it. On the other hand, his German counterpart created history by bagging the gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Both the players are equally determined to work hard and seal the spot in the next round of the tournament. It will be interesting to see which player comes out on top and wins the encounter. 

UNDERARM ACE 😳@andy_murray #BNPPO21 pic.twitter.com/PjJCfrlHHd

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 10, 2021

Head to Head encounters between the players

The players have encountered each other previously on just two occasions. This will just be the third time when the players will battle out against each other.  On the previous two occasions, Andy Murray maintains an upper hand and has a 100% win record against the German. Here are the moments when the players faced out against each other. 

• Australian Open- 2016: This was the first time when both the players met each other for the very first time. It was the first round and the much experienced British player had the advantage going into the game. He quite comfortably defeated Alexander Zverev with a scoreline of 6-1, 6-2, 6-3. 
• ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati Open- 2020: Four years later, the players met for the second time. The result is time around was still the same as Andy Murray defeated his opponent with a scoreline of 6-3, 3-6, 7-5. Though the German tried to make a comeback in the match, that was not sufficient to defeat his rival.  

Who will win this epic encounter?

The German player will enter the court as the favorite player to progress into the next round. But we can not Andy Murray for granted. The performance he has shown in the last match definitely shows that he is slowly back on track and wants to show his dominance. 

Andy Murray faces a tough test this evening.

The Dunblane star is taking on the world number 4, Alexander Zverev, in the third round of the Indian Wells Masters.

Andy defeated Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday night. pic.twitter.com/1lecspDJJN

— Central FM News (@CentralFMNews) October 12, 2021

The chances of errors will have to be relatively very low as we know how the top players can make an advantage out of that.