Djokovic to still have too much for well-rested Murray in Miami

Andy Murray has had the luxury of walking through three of his matches at the Sony Ericsson Open without needing to hit a tennis ball, but this extra rest is unlikely to be enough of an edge to beat Novak Djokovic in the final.

Murray’s odds are 2/1 to beat Djokovic and he did defeat the world number one when the pair last met in Dubai earlier this season.

Furthermore, after receiving a bye in the first round of the tournament, Murray has sat back as first Milos Raonic pulled out of their third-round clash and then a knee injury saw Rafael Nadal miss their anticipated semi final.

During this time, Djokovic has only shown his best in patches and has struggled at times in his victories over David Ferrer and Juan Monaco in particular.

However, the slow nature of the court in Miami gives him an advantage and 2/5 looks decent value that he can go into the clay court season on the back of a tournament victory.

Murray’s victory in Dubai was on a slightly quicker surface and this allowed him to keep Djokovic penned behind the baseline.

A slower surface offers Djokovic more of a chance to dominate and he will be especially dangerous if Murray is forced to rely heavily on second serves.

Tight first sets have been at a premium in the majority of the 12 professional showdowns between the pair and so from the side bets it may pay to take the 6/5 that the first set is won by either player in under 9.5 games.

Meanwhile, with Murray losing the first set of his quarter final with Janko Tipsarevic, Djokovic looks the better call to win the first set at 1/2, with 8/1 standing out that the Serb takes the opening set 6-2.