Good morning/afternoon/evening. Welcome to coverage of the fourth-round match between the second seed, Andy Murray, and the 16th seed, Bernard Tomic. The odds here are stacked firmly in favour of Murray, who has beaten Tomic in their last three meetings without ever losing a set or being made to feel even a smidgin uncomfortable. However, Tomic will have a considerable wind behind him in the form of a boisterous crowd on Rod Laver Arena, who will try to give the Australian No1 a bit more pep in his step as he attempts to put Murray under pressure.
Tomic, who is no stranger to criticism for a perceived lax attitude, appears to be taking this match very seriously indeed and has been thorough in his research. He says he will use Kevin Andersons defeat of Murray in the last 16 of the US Open as motivation. Andy loves playing players that attack. I dont think he likes players like John Isner and Anderson, Tomic said. You have to take the ball to him, play aggressive, but not too aggressive, and rally at the right time. So, perhaps h**l try to draw Murray into attacking the game and look to exploit mistakes rather than push the tempo of rallies himself. A good tactical plan, or would it be folly to give a player of Murrays quality the chance to shape the match? Given, hes lost every set hes ever played against Murray perhaps he knows better than anyone else what he needs to change. For a player as tall as he is, 6ft 5in, he can vary the pace of rallies quite skilfully. He may need to do that today if he is to prevent Murray from getting into the groove.
Tomic has had time to have a pop at Roger Federer too, which doesnt seem the smartest thing to do. Responding to Federers perceived criticism of him in Brisbane earlier in the month when he appeared puzzled by Tomics lack of progress since emerging as a player of rich promise a few years ago, he said: If he believes Im very far away from the top 10, I also believe my prediction that hes nowhere near Novaks tennis right now. Im sure Federer is stinging.
As for Murray, h**l be grateful that his father-in-law, Nigel Sears, has been released from hospital and is well enough to return home to be with Murrays pregnant wife, Kim. he must have been a little shaken in the immediate aftermath of his four-set victory over Joo Sousa. h**l need to focus again and continue to play with the authority that has led to his unruffled progress into the last 16 in Melbourne. Im looking forward to this.
Source: http://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2016/jan/25/andy-murray-bernard-tomic-australian-open-live
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