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Andy Murray Success Threatened by Del Potro
Crunch Sports Staff
12 Jan 2021
Pat Cash thinks that Del Potro, not Djokovic, is the big threat on tour in the competition for the world number 1.
Some think that Andy Murray’s best chances for becoming world number 1 may have come and gone.
Murray has eased gently into the new season by warming up in Perth in the Hoffman Cup. Overnight, his fledgling partnership with Laura Robson earned a 2-1 win against Russia that took them into the final. And he has been away and done his annual two-week “boot camp” in Florida to brush up his fitness ready for the new season. On court he looks relaxed, has had a smile and a laugh with Laura that’s clearly put her at ease too, and given good vibes for the campaign that’s about to begin in earnest.
But if you are tempted to think that Federer’s era is drawing to a close, that Rafael Nadal too has slid from his peak, and that Novak Djokovic was a fleeting phenomenon, then take note of a few words from former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash.
Cash reckons that Murray can still be number one, but that it will be Juan Martin Del Potro who will be his biggest rival.
“Del Potro is the danger guy of the whole lot of them”, he says. And it’s a fair shout. Del Potro is 21, the age at which tennis players seem to hit their peak, and will go into the Australian Open with the confidence gained from winning the US Open when he shocked Federer in the final. Despite that success he’s as long as 7.8 (+680) to win this Grand Slam too and it looks a value bet.
Murray reached the world number two ranking for a fortnight in August last year before falling prey to one of the niggling injuries that he still seems prone to collect. He is 2.12 (+112) to reach the same level at any time in 2010 but Del Potro’s emergence means that’s a far safer lay, even at the 3.0 (+200) that’s available at the moment. And I hate to be negative but I also think the 1.63 (-159) for him to end the year still searching for his first Grand Slam title is also a safe investment.
