Australian Open Quarter Finals - Andy Murray vs Rafael Nadal

Britain`s Andy Murray takes on current Australian Open champion Rafael Nadal in tonight`s quarter final. Murray has never reached the quarters of this competition before, but will harbour high hopes of going even further this time around, having played some sublime tennis on his way to this match up.

Both players played similar opponents last round, with Murray beating John Isner 7-6, 6-3, 6-2, and Nadal having more trouble overcoming Ivo Karlovic 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. Murray has yet to drop a set in the tournament, with Mark Gicquel, Florent Serra and Isner all being dispatched with ruthless efficiency. Nadal dropped a set against both Karlovic and Phillipp Kohlschreiber, and has yet to hit the heights which saw him claim the title here last year.

The bookies expect the match to be very close, with Murray a slight favourite at 17/20 (bet $200 to make $170 profit). Nadal is priced at 11/10.

In terms of set betting, the favourite spot is a 3-1 win for Murray, which is priced at 7/2. A 3-1 win for Nadal is at 4/1, and a straight sets win is priced at 5/1 for either player. If the match goes to five sets, Murray is favourite to eventually emerge as the winner, priced at 11/2, while Nadal is 6/1 to win 3-2.

One thing which points in Nadal`s favour is that he has an excellent head to head record against Murray, having won seven of their nine matches. Nadal triumphed in the last two matches these two played, but one was on clay in Monte Carlo, which is Rafa`s best surface and Murray`s worst, and the other was in the final of Indian Wells last year, when Nadal was in the form of his life. Murray`s wins came in the two matches immediately before those, both on hard courts, and both in big matches, with one in the final of the Rotterdam event, and the other in the 2008 semi final of the US Open.

The winner of this match will player the winner of the quarter-final between seventh seed Andy Roddick and fourteenth seed Marin Cilic. Both Nadal and Murray are heavily favoured for the title, with Murray second favourite at 4/1, and Nadal third favourite at 5/1. Both are some way behind Federer in the outright betting, with the World No. 1 priced at 21/20.

Murray vs Nadal betting odds

Australian Open outright betting odds

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