Basel 2023: Andy Murray vs Tomas Martin Etcheverry preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds, and pick

Fixture: Andy Murray vs Tomas Martin Etcheverry

Date: October 25, 2023

Tournament: Swiss Indoors 2023

Round: Second Round (Round of 16)

Venue: St. Jakobshalle, Basel, Switzerland

Surface: Hard (Indoor)

Prize money: €2,196,000

Andy Murray vs Tomas Martin Etcheverry preview

Three-time Major champion Andy Murray will square off against Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the second round of the 2023 Swiss Indoors on Wednesday.

Murray kicked off his campaign in Basel against Yannick Hanfmann. The Brit went 5-2 up due to an early break in the first set. He even served for the set and held a set point, but his opponent nabbed three games in a row to level the score.

With Hanfmann then serving to stay in the set at 6-5, Murray broke his serve yet again to take the opener. The former World No. 1 jumped to a 5-2 lead in the second set too, but he failed to close out the match when he had the chance.

Hanfmann stopped Murray from serving out the match at 5-3, but it only delayed the inevitable. The Brit broke his opponent's serve one last time to score a 7-5, 6-4 victory.

Etcheverry, meanwhile, faced Sebastian Korda in his opener. The Argentine was off to a fast start as he raced to a 3-0 lead in the first set. His opponent couldn't close the gap despite his best efforts, and he managed to clinch the set.

But Korda raised his level considerably as he captured the second set for the loss of just one game. He kept pace with Etcheverry in the third set until 3-3, after which the latter ran away with the match. The Argentine swept the last three games to win 6-3, 1-6, 6-3.

Andy Murray vs Tomas Martin Etcheverry head-to-head

Murray leads Etcheverry 1-0 in the head-to-head. He won their previous encounter at the 2023 Indian Wells Masters in three sets.

Andy Murray vs Tomas Martin Etcheverry prediction

(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)

Andy Murray vs Tomas Martin Etcheverry prediction

Etcheverry's win over Korda marked the first time he defeated someone ranked higher than him on hardcourts. He overcame a second set stumble by playing some aggressive tennis to send the American packing.

Murray grinded out a tough win over Hanfmann to snap his three-match losing streak. However, his straight sets victory took more than two hours to conclude, while Etcheverry wrapped up his three-set battle in under two hours.

Murray bested Etcheverry the last time they played in three sets. The Brit was able to do so by gaining the upper hand during return games. He created a total of 20 break point chances and converted four of them, while conceding a lone break on his part.

Etcheverry has won more matches than Murray this year, but only seven of those have been on hardcourts. The former World No. 1 has still got some fight left in him and could outlast his younger opponent to prevail in their forthcoming encounter.

Pick: Andy Murray to win in three sets.