Andy Murray v Milos Raonic: Murray to get job done in four sets

Andy Murray is considered as perhaps the best returner in men’s tennis and he will need all of his talents in this department if he is to outgun Milos Raonic at the US Open.

Murray is 3/10 to advance into the quarter finals, but there seems better value in the 5/2 that the Olympic champion comes through 3-1.

Progress has been pretty ordinary through the US Open draw for Murray, playing below par in beating Alex Bogomolov and Feliciano Lopez, even if looking much sharper in between against Ivan Dodig.

The heat has looked one of the chief problems for Murray, while against Lopez in particular he struggled to build on any advantage he gained.

If he makes the same mistakes against Raonic he could be in difficulty, especially if failing to capitalise on a break of serve.

Raonic has fired down more aces than any other player on the ATP Tour this season and won a whopping 89 per cent of points on his first serve against James Blake in the third round.

His variation is likely to present a problem even for a player with the returning skills of Murray, but if the Brit can keep the ball in play, he will have the advantage in rallies.

Murray was on court over two hours longer in the last round than Raonic and this fact may see some support for the Canadian at 5/2.

But punters can always expect the odd hiccup from Murray and smooth progress to the latter stages of a Grand Slam is something that rarely materialises.

Therefore, this US Open has not been too dissimilar to past tournaments for Murray and he will know that keeping Raonic on his backhand side will be the best ploy.

The fact that Santiago Giraldo took Raonic to a tense five sets in the opening round will be another boost to Murray.

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