Draper vs Murray – ATP Indian Wells Prediction & Betting Tips

Betting Prediction for Draper vs Murray – ATP Indian Wells Masters

Andy Murray continued his good start to the season with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Radu Albot in the second round. This was the first time in 2023 that Murray won a match in straight sets after so many close victories in his previous tournaments. In the Australian Open he won two matches in the fifth set and in Dubai he reached the final after four victories in the decisive set. Nevertheless, it has been a very positive year so far, especially since Murray has struggled with his body in recent years and that has not been the case so far this season.

The former world no.1 was very impressive on serve in the previous round against Albot, not facing a single break point in the entire match and winning 83% of the points with his first serve. On the other hand, Murray created a total of 11 break point opportunities and won 43% of the points on Albot’s serve.

Murray’s prediction for this year is to make good runs in the important tournaments and this event in Indian Wells is a great opportunity. One of the reasons is that he has a day to recover between most matches, which is very important for him and doesn’t usually happen outside Grand Slams. In addition, the conditions in the Indian Wells Masters are not easy for the players and he’s one of the most experienced players in the draw.

In the next round Murray will face his fellow countryman Jack Draper in an all-Brit clash. Draper missed the last weeks of competition due to a left hip injury but quickly found his best tennis in Indian Wells. The 21-year-old is making his first appearance on this event and has yet to drop a set in the California desert.

Looking at Draper’s campaign on this event, the world no.56 reached this stage of the competition after a 6-4, 6-2 win over Daniel Evans in exactly two hours. Despite the scoreboard, this was a very close contest between the two players. However, Draper played the important points better, saving 10 of the 11 break points he faced in the match and breaking Evans’ serve four times to secure the victory.

Regardless of this Monday’s outcome in the match between Draper and Murray, the younger of the two already secured his return to the top 50 next week. Adding to this, another obvious thing is certain, there will be a British player in the following round.

Draper vs Murray Head-to-Head

This will be the first time that the two players will face each other on the ATP Tour. However, it won’t be easy for Draper to play against the player he considers his childhood idol, as it happens with most players.

Draper vs Murray Betting Prediction – ATP Indian Wells Masters

The sportsbooks are expecting a close contest with Draper as the slight favorite to get the win on this match against Murray. Looking at the odds in the best sportsbooks for tennis betting, Draper is available at around 1.72, which is -139 in American odds. On the other hand, Murray’s tennis betting odds to win this match against Draper can be found at 2.25, or +125 if we talk about American odds.

As mentioned above, this will be the first meeting between Draper and Murray, which makes it always more difficult to make a betting prediction since you don’t have past references. However, there are some key points to consider before placing a bet on this match.

The first is that Murray is the more experienced of the two and might take advantage of some nerves from Draper. We’ve seen over the years many players struggling when facing their childhood idol and that is something that can’t be ignored. It’s not easy to play against someone you grew up admiring and it might have add some extra pressure to Draper against Murray on this match.

Other of the factors to consider are the conditions in Indian Wells and when this match is going to be played. When betting in the Indian Wells Masters it’s very important to understand how different the game conditions are on this event. The courts are very slow this year and the ball bounces higher than on other courts, making it tough for the players to produce their best tennis. On top of that, this match will be played at night, meaning that the conditions will be even slower, which will make it harder for Draper to get free points with his serve and groundstrokes.

Murray will enjoy the slower conditions at night and will force Draper to play long rallies. We’ve seen how Murray has been doing well on long matches and this should be another one. One of the possible betting approaches for this match is taking the Over 22.5 games, which is available around 1.98 (-102). This should be a very close match and we don’t see any of the two players winning in two easy sets.

However, the best approach on our betting prediction for this match is for Murray to beat Draper in Indian Wells. It’s hard to understand how the sportsbooks consider him the underdog for this match, especially since it’s going to be played in night session and very slow conditions. Draper might even get the win, but we don’t consider him to have almost 60% of chances to win this match as the odds suggest.

Having said that, our betting tips for this match is for Murray to win this match at 2.25 (+125) against Draper. The value is on the most experienced of the two and we have to go with him on this prediction for the ATP Indian Wells Masters.

Betting Tip: Murray to Win at 2.25 (+125)