In Thursdays Australian Open semi-final clash, the British Andy Murray is out for revenge against Marin Cilic from Croatia. It was Cilic as the 4th seed who knocked the 2nd seed Murray out of last years US Open in straight sets. Murray was suffering from a wrist injury which kept him out for most of the tail end of the 2009 season but he had a 3-0 record against Cilic before that meeting. But still a disappointing result all the same. Or as John McEnroe put it as only John McEnroe can put it he laid an egg on court.
As well as avenging that US Open defeat, Murray has got the chance to reach his second Grand Slam final which would be the most for any British male in the modern era, not to mention being the first British male to win any Grand Slam since the days of Fred Perry. But lets not get too far ahead of ourselves here since he will probably have to pass Roger Federer in the final if he wants to get his hands on the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup. They met in the 2008 US Open final where Federer gave Murray a quick yet thorough tennis lesson, winning with ease in straight sets.
Aside from Murray having the advantage of a world ranking 10 places higher than Cilic, he also has another distinct edge. Murray has won each of his five matches without dropping a set, and he even got an early reprieve in his last match when Rafael Nadal retired mid way during the 3rd set. Even though Cilic has been playing some of his best tennis, beating world #7 Andy Roddick along the way, he has been taken to 5 sets on all but two of his matches. That translates to 10 hours of playing time for Murray against 18 for Cilic. Murray can afford to go all out with a two day break until the final, Cilic might not have enough left in the tank.
Pinnacle currently has Murray at a chalky -406 with Cilic at +360. The spread is Murray -6 games priced at +118 which would seem a better value wager considering Murrays increased ability and, more importantly, increased energy levels. Thankfully for both players, and definitely to the advantage of Cilic, the temperature is forecast to be a comfortable 69 degrees at game time.
The match is due to start around 0030PST, 0530EST, 0830GMT or 1930 local time depending on your location.
As well as avenging that US Open defeat, Murray has got the chance to reach his second Grand Slam final which would be the most for any British male in the modern era, not to mention being the first British male to win any Grand Slam since the days of Fred Perry. But lets not get too far ahead of ourselves here since he will probably have to pass Roger Federer in the final if he wants to get his hands on the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup. They met in the 2008 US Open final where Federer gave Murray a quick yet thorough tennis lesson, winning with ease in straight sets.
Aside from Murray having the advantage of a world ranking 10 places higher than Cilic, he also has another distinct edge. Murray has won each of his five matches without dropping a set, and he even got an early reprieve in his last match when Rafael Nadal retired mid way during the 3rd set. Even though Cilic has been playing some of his best tennis, beating world #7 Andy Roddick along the way, he has been taken to 5 sets on all but two of his matches. That translates to 10 hours of playing time for Murray against 18 for Cilic. Murray can afford to go all out with a two day break until the final, Cilic might not have enough left in the tank.
Pinnacle currently has Murray at a chalky -406 with Cilic at +360. The spread is Murray -6 games priced at +118 which would seem a better value wager considering Murrays increased ability and, more importantly, increased energy levels. Thankfully for both players, and definitely to the advantage of Cilic, the temperature is forecast to be a comfortable 69 degrees at game time.
The match is due to start around 0030PST, 0530EST, 0830GMT or 1930 local time depending on your location.
