wThe 2021
Murray River Open played from February 1st - 7th offers great preparation for the players ahead of the first Grand Slam of the season.
A strong week of tennis at the Murray River Open is coming to a close with only one thing left to do and that is the crowning of a champion. Only two players remain and it will be Dan Evans versus Felix Auger-Aliassime in the final for the title. Dan Evans enters the final on Sunday withouth dropping a set something which is characteristic for the Brit who is very consistent in his play. On the other hand we have Felix who will be looking to win his first career title against a strong opponent.
The young Canadian will play in his 8th career finals having lost all 7 of his previous ones. Nerves are something the Canadian has admitted to feeling so it will be tough for him against a very solid Evans. Felix is the better player overall and looked superb in the semifinals but his inconsistency might prove key in the final. The match will be played on Sunday at 04:00 CET.
2021 Murray River Open Schedule of Play:
Sunday, February 7th:
04:00 Evans D. (Gbr) - Auger-Aliassime F. (Can)
Saturday, February 6th:
Corentin Moutet, Jeremy Chardy, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Daniel Evans all won two matches on Friday to advance into the semis, seeking the first title of the season ahead of the Australian Open. Only 1 can win the title and it will be especially Jeremy Chardy who will try to do it. The Frenchman will face Novak Djokovic in the first round of the 2021 Australian Open and so he will attepmpt to finish the Murray River Open as the champion.
04:30 Chardy J. (Fra) vs Evans D. (Gbr)
06:00 Auger-Aliassime F. (Can) vs Moutet C. (Fra)
Friday, February 4th:
After staying away from the official action on Thursday, the matches are back at Melbourne Park on Friday, with organizers doing their best to complete all six pre-Australian Open events.
The Murray River Open offers eight third-round matches, with 16 players battling to reach the quarters and remain on the title course. Jeremy Chardy faces Taylor Fritz, while Nick Kyrgios and Borna Coric share the court in one of the most anticipated matches of the day. James Duckworth and
Corentin Moutet will battle in another early duel, followed by Marcos Giron and Daniel Evans.
Jiri Vesely and Ricardas Berankis should deliver a tight encounter while two notable players close the action, Stan Wawrinka against Alex Bolt and Grigor Dimitrov versus Alexei Popyrin.
02:00 Chardy J. (Fra) vs Fritz T. (Usa)
02:00 Coric B. (Cro) vs Kyrgios N. (Aus)
02:00 Duckworth J. (Aus) vs Moutet C. (Fra)
02:00 Gerasimov E. (Blr) vs Auger-Aliassime F. (Can)
02:00 Giron M. (Usa) vs Evans D. (Gbr)
02:00 Vesely J. (Cze) vs Berankis R. (Ltu)
03:30 Wawrinka S. (Sui) vs Bolt A. (Aus)
04:00 Popyrin Al. (Aus) vs Dimitrov G. (Bul)
Wednesday, February 3rd:
The Murray Valley Open third round offers 16 matches on Wednesday, with some notable names entering the competition after quiet opening two days. Jason Kubler faces Ricardas Berankis, and Marton Fucsovics plays against Egor Gerasimov in two wide-open encounters.
Adrian Mannarino and Marcos Giron will fight for the place in the last 16, so as Pedro Sousa and Daniel Evans.
Alex Bolt and Mackenzie McDonald should test their baseline skills, while
Tommy Paul and Alexei Popyrin forge more explosive duel. The three-time Major winner Stan Wawrinka kicks off the season against Mikhail Kukushkin. Nick Kyrgios battles against the fellow Aussie Harry Bourchier, while Grigor Dimitrov kicks off the action versus Andrew Harris. Borna Coric, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Taylor Fritz will also hit the court.
00:30 Berankis R. (Ltu) vs Kubler J. (Aus)
00:30 Fucsovics M. (Hun) vs Gerasimov E. (Blr)
00:30 Mannarino A. (Fra) vs Giron M. (Usa)
00:30 Sousa P. (Por) vs Evans D. (Gbr)
01:00 Bolt A. (Aus) vs McDonald M. (Usa)
02:00 Paul T. (Usa) vs Popyrin Al. (Aus)
02:30 Wawrinka S. (Sui) vs Kukushkin M. (Kaz)
03:30 Humbert U. (Fra) vs Duckworth J. (Aus)
04:00 Ruud C. (Nor) vs Vesely J. (Cze)
05:00 Chardy J. (Fra) vs Simon G. (Fra)
05:30 Bourchier H. (Aus) vs Kyrgios N. (Aus)
05:30 Harris A. (Aus) vs Dimitrov G. (Bul)
05:30 Sugita Y. (Jpn) vs Auger-Aliassime F. (Can)
06:30 Coric B. (Cro) vs Ruusuvuori E. (Fin)
07:00 Coria F. (Arg) vs Fritz T. (Usa)
08:00 Moutet C. (Fra) vs Ramos A. (Esp)
Tuesday, February 2nd:
The second-day action brings ten first-round encounters, with Nick Kyrgios as the leading star. The Aussie returns to competitive tennis for the first time since last February, facing Alexandre Muller.
In an all-American clash, Marcos Giron plays against Michael Mmoh, while James Duckworth takes upon the young Czech Tomas Machac. Borna Gojo and Alexei Popyrin should play a competitive match, so as Elias Ymer and Gilles Simon.
02:30 Giron M. (Usa) vs Mmoh M. (Usa)
03:30 Duckworth J. (Aus) vs Machac T. (Cze)
03:30 Londero J. I. (Arg) vs Kukushkin M. (Kaz)
04:00 Gojo B. (Cro) vs Popyrin Al. (Aus)
05:00 Ferreira Silva F. (Por) vs Vesely J. (Cze)
05:00 Sugita Y. (Jpn) vs Halys Q. (Fra)
05:30 Muller A. (Fra) vs Kyrgios N. (Aus)
06:30 Harris A. (Aus) vs Daniel T. (Jpn)
06:30 Ymer E. (Swe) vs Simon G. (Fra)
07:30 Troicki V. (Srb) vs Ruusuvuori E. (Fin)
Monday, February 1st:
On Monday, the tournament will kick-off with the first-round matches. Although the majority of the top-seeded players have a bye into the second round, we'll still see a lot of interesting matchups.
The 2021 Murray River Open will kick-off with a high-quality clash between
Frances Tiafoe and Corentin Moutet. Then we'll see also veteran
Richard Gasquet who will take on Mackenzie McDonald.
The American youngster, Tommy Paul will play against Cameron Norrie and we'll see also the return of two Australians to the ATP courts. First, Thanasi Kokkinakis will take on fellow countryman Alex Bolt and as the last match of the day, we'll see another clash of two Aussies between Bernard Tomic and Marc Polmans. The eleventh-seeded
Marin Cilic will meet Jeremy Chardy in the first round.
00:30 Tiafoe F. (Usa) - Moutet C. (Fra)
02:00 Gerasimov E. (Blr) - Harris G. (Rsa)
02:00 McDonald M. (Usa) - Gasquet R. (Fra)
02:00 Paul T. (Usa) - Norrie C. (Gbr)
03:30 Albot R. (Mda) - Coria F. (Arg)
03:30 Fucsovics M. (Hun) - Cecchinato M. (Ita)
03:30 Kubler J. (Aus) - Sonego L. (Ita)
05:00 Kokkinakis T. (Aus) - Bolt A. (Aus)
05:00 Sousa P. (Por) - Tu L. (Aus)
06:30 Čilič M. (Cro) - Chardy J. (Fra)
06:30 Mannarino A. (Fra) - Ymer M. (Swe)
06:30 Mott B. (Aus) - Ramos A. (Esp)
06:30 Nagal S. (Ind) - Berankis R. (Ltu)
10:00 Tomic B. (Aus) - Polmans M. (Aus)