Andy Murray v Stanislas Wawrinka: tricky opener for home favourite

Andy Murray is 1/8 to progress to the second round of the Olympic tennis competition after being handed a tough draw as he takes on the Swiss flag-bearer Stanislas Wawrinka on the grass courts of SW19.

‘Stan’ is competing at his first Games but he is an experienced schemer and he won’t be phased by the occasion or the home crowd, but his form on grass this year – first round exits at both Wimbledon and Boodles – means he looks set for a difficult challenge against a player carrying the hopes of a nation and that is reflected in his 5/1 price.

Murray came desperately close to securing a Slam victory on home soil a matter of weeks ago, when he was defeated in a Centre Court final by another Swiss in the shape of Roger Federer.

However, with Rafael Nadal pulling out of London 2012 through injury the Scot will see this as a great opportunity to secure the next best accolade to a Grand Slam title, a gold medal.

Murray has won four of the last five meetings against Wawrinka and his ranking supersedes his opponent by 22 places.

Those expecting the home man to have it all his own way may want to think again as Murray has only managed to overcome Wawrinka in straight sets on one occasion.

Nevertheless, Murray has showed his class on grass and a price of 2/5 on a 2-0 win for the 25-year-old may attract the patriotic punter.

The last two meetings between these two players has seen the world number four win whilst conceding one set, add to that the fact that four of his last six matches have produced the same outcome getting behind a 2-1 win for the Dunblane born man at 7/2 looks the sensible option.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.