Madrid Masters Quarterfinals - Andy Murray vs. Gael Monfils

Madrid, Spain – As the Mutua Madrilena Andy Murray vs. Gael Monfils, set to open the quarterfinal round tomorrow morning.

No.4 Andy Murray survived the battle of the bright stars of the future in the R16 when he scraped by Marin Cilic 7-5, 7-6(2) while Gael Monfils of France usurped Andy Roddick in a three set marathon 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.

Both Murray and Monfils enter this match in fine form. They have each made significant breakthroughs in their careers this year –albeit being in slightly different phases. Monfils at 22-years-old is the older of the two by a year and only recently reached a career high ranking of No.18. Murray also crossed a milestone in his career when he broke in to the top five after reaching his first Grand Slam final at the 2008 US Open last month.

Here is a look at their matchup and my prediction on what the tennis-betting outcome will be.

Tennis Betting Line: Andy Murray vs. Gael Monfils

Match Time: 05:00 AM Eastern Time, Friday October 17, 2008

Head-to-Head Analysis: No.4 Andy Murray and No.18 Gael Monfils are tied 1-1 in their series. The last time they met was in 2006. Murray beat Monfils at the ATP Masters Series in Hamburg. Monfils avenged the loss and evened the score at the 2006 Roland Garros in a five-set affair 6-4, 6-7(2), 1-6, 6-2, 6-1.

Tennis Betting Analysis:

Murray: Certainly, despite their close head-to-head record, Murray will enter this matchup as the favourite. This season has seen the fiery Scotsman make significant breakthroughs: picking up his first career Masters Shield in Cincinnati, not to mention reaching a Grand Slam final. Overall, he is 43-14 for the season with three titles and boasting a new ranking spot within the ATP top 5.

Murray is intent on gate crashing the threesome of Nadal-Federer-Djokovic and insinuating himself in the mix as a real challenger to usurp either one in the trio. In order to do so he has to achieve great results at major events – just like this one.

There are only two Masters Shields up for grabs in the 2008 season (Madrid and Paris) and Murray is a serious contender to emerge from the bottom half of the draw in Madrid. Winning his first one in Cincinnati has given him the required confidence – and we saw that newfound confidence displayed at the US Open when he carried the momentum into the final movement.

Monfils: Monfils is the underdog in this matchup but he is one with an outside chance. He missed the first few months of the season and well naturally, it took some time before he found his game and shook of the rust. Since coming on fire at Roland Garros, wherein he pushed to the semis, Monfils has been unstoppable. He made the semis in both Nottingham and Bangkok, reached the R16 at the US Open, pushed to the quarters at the Beijing Olympics, and just last week, he was a finalist in Vienna.

Monfils has been going from strength to strength this season and his ranking within the top 20 reflects his achievements. At Roland Garros, Monfils earned his first big scalp when he beat No.5 David Ferrer. He followed up with a second big scalp at the US Open, beating No.7 David Nalbandian in the third round.