MURRAY TAKES ON BAGHDATIS FOR A SPOT IN THE LAST 16

After two rounds of the French Open to say Murray is on the verge of an enduring stay in Paris would be an overstatement. Murray got off to a slow start, barely squeaking by Gasquet in a five-set marathon. Then followed up with a mixed performance against Chela during a rain-interrupted second round which can't seriously have impressed many.
Next up for Murray is Marcos Baghdatis, ever a popular player wherever he goes, nowhere more so than in Paris, after Melbourne.
William Hill is offering a rather tempting market on the Murray vs. Baghdatis clash with Murray modestly favoured at 4/11 and Baghdatis a mere 2/1 puppy.
With hindsight, this market is probably nothing to be surprised about. Fact is bookies have to accommodate all the patriotic betting that will come down the wire. After all, Muzz is B-R-A-V-E-H-E-A-R-T. Didn’t he twice slay the Gasquet dragon, coming back from the brink of defeat? And didn’t he dismiss the upstart Chela for a sixth time in his career yesterday?
So he did. And I can understand why these performances might underscore an impetus in the market to back Murray but, and British tennis fans may well be chuffed with me for saying this, Baghdatis, in my opinion, is the better bet.
I can almost hear the collective national outrage over this, “Oh, la, why do you rain on our Muzz parade so? “
First of all, there is the fact that Baghdatis has never lost to Murray. Put another way, Murray has YET to beat Baghdatis. To put a finer exclamation on their series: Murray has yet to take a set off Baghdatis in two matches, five sets played. Expecting him to do so, on his least favourite surface, is going to be a stretch in my humble opinion.
Making this even less likely is Murray’s shaky form in Paris. He has been rather fortunate to go two rounds all things considered. Gasquet has always been soft and shaky in clutch situations so I am not going to go raving about Murray’s heroic comeback there. Chela is a veteran who let us face it isn’t exactly viable in the game so can’t say I am wowed by that match either.
Baghdatis is a different kettle of fish. He is a top 30 player, once a top ten player. He is on solid form this season, 24-12 with a title in Sydney. Recently, during the clay-court swing, he managed a semi-final appearance in Munich and a quarterfinal in Nice.
Baghdatis has the confidence of a winning record over Murray. He will probably enjoy a home edge like advantage – because he is a popular guy, trained in France for many years and well, the French and British are not exactly a marriage made in heaven now are they.
Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying Murray cannot win. He should win if he wants to hobnob with players of Federer and Nadal’s ilk, multiple grand slam champions. Just saying, don’t be surprised if he doesn’t is all.