Preview and Schedule: Murray, Raonic To Renew Rivalry On Tuesday At W&S Open

Andy Murray and Milos Raonic contested six ATP Head2Head matches in 2016, including finals at Wimbledon and The Queen’s Club, but since then, their rivalry has been on hold.

That will change on Tuesday at the Western & Southern Open when the pair meet for the 13th time (Murray leads 9-3) with a spot in the quarter-finals on the line. Murray will be aiming to make it nine victories in a row against the Canadian, who claimed each of his three wins in the first four matches of the rivalry.

Murray has impressed with his movement and stamina in his opening two matches of the year. The former World No. 1 has survived back-to-back three set matches against Frances Tiafoe and Alexander Zverev. Raonic’s route to the third round has been far more straightforward, with no sets dropped and 42 aces struck across victories against Sam Querrey and Daniel Evans.

“I have played him a lot. [He has a] huge serve. I saw a bit of the match today against Dan Evans. He is serving well, playing aggressive, which is when he plays his best,” said Murray.

“We have played each other in some big matches. We played at the US Open, Cincinnati, Wimbledon final, the Australian Open. He has had his injury struggles as well, so it is nice to see him back.”

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic will attempt to take his unbeaten start to the year to 20 matches when he faces Tennys Sandgren. The 2018 champion leads Sandgren 2-0 in their ATP Head2Head series, which includes a four-set victory at the US Open in 2018.

Australian Open quarter-finalist Sandgren will be hoping to add to his 3-2 record against Top 20 opposition this year. The wild card beat Felix Auger-Aliassime in a final-set tie-break to reach the third round at an ATP Masters 1000 event for the first time on Monday.

“That is why you do the training, that is why you put yourself out there, to test yourself,” said Sandgren. “It is a blessing to be able to play against someone who is going to be one of the all-time greats.”

Defending champion Daniil Medvedev and last year’s runner-up David Goffin will return to action. Medvedev will continue his title defence against Aljaz Bedene in the opening match on Grandstand, while Goffin will meet Jan-Lennard Struff for a place in the last eight.

Matteo Berrettini and Stefanos Tsitsipas will face American opposition in back-to-back matches on Court 10. Sixth seed Berrettini meets Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com champion Reilly Opelka, before Tsitsipas battles 2013 runner-up John Isner.

ORDER OF PLAY – TUESDAY, AUGUST 25, 2020
GRANDSTAND start 11:00 am
[3] Daniil Medvedev vs [Q] Aljaz Bedene
WTA Match

Not Before 3:30 pm
[1] Novak Djokovic vs [WC] Tennys Sandgren
[WC] Andy Murray vs Milos Raonic

Not Before 7:00 pm
WTA Match

COURT 17 start 11:00 am
WTA Match
[11] Karen Khachanov vs [8] Roberto Bautista Agut

Not Before 3:00 pm
WTA Match
WTA Match

Not Before 7:00 pm
[Q] Marton Fucsovics vs Filip Krajinovic

COURT 10 start 11:00 am
Jan-Lennard Struff vs [7] David Goffin
WTA Match
[6] Matteo Berrettini vs Reilly Opelka
[16] John Isner vs [4] Stefanos Tsitsipas

Click here to view the full Day 4 schedule.