BNP Paribas Masters Quarters - Nalbandian takes on Murray’s Mojo in Paris

Paris, France – The sports betting community can look forward to an exciting quarterfinal line-up at the Paris Masters with the top duo of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal confirmed in the final eight – including, and no less stirring, defending champion David Nalbandian and double Masters titlist (Cincinnati and Madrid), Andy Murray.

Nalbandian and Murray have confirmed the quarterfinal date most sports bettors had anticipated at the start of the tournament. The good news for Murray, though he fell in to the same quarter of the draw as the Paris champion, was that his threats were in the other section. Now that they are in the quarters, Nalbandian could be the first in what would be a series of threats strewn across the path to the title.

Murray has been on an incredible run during the latter half of the season. Winning his first-ever Masters Series Shield in Cincinnati, he backed up his performance with a runner-up finish at the US Open and a second consecutive Masters title in Madrid. Joining the ranks of the top five elite, the spotlight will be on No.4 Murray as he vies to dethrone Nalbandian. Therefore, will Murray shine or will Nalbandian snuff out the Scots fiery flame.

Tennis Betting Line: David Nalbandian vs. Andy Murray

Match Time: 05:00 AM Eastern Time Friday October 31, 2008

Head-to-head Analysis: No.8 David Nalbandian owns a 1-0 edge over Andy Murray having beaten him at the Championships in 2005. The Wimbledon R32 match was a five set marathon that saw Nalbandian comeback from a two set deficit: 6-7(4, 1-6, 6-0, 6-4, 6-1

Tennis Betting Analysis: This is the first time Nalbandian gets a chance at red-hot Murray. In their one and only previous encounter, over three years ago, Murray was still a bit of a greenhorn. Now though, Murray is an entirely different player. He enters this matchup on the strength of a breakthrough summer and two back-to-back Masters triumphs and a successful title defence campaign in St. Petersburg.

Murray has logged in a lot of court time though. He puts a 12-consecutive-match-winning streak on the line, 5 titles and a 55-14 mark for the season.

No.8 Nalbandian by comparison has had an ok year. He won two titles – the first came in Buenos Aires in February and the second came in Stockholm a fortnight ago. Overall, on the season Nalbandian is 41-15. He is a bit of a guru on the indoor courts, evinced by a 10-3 mark that includes a title and a runner-up finish in Basel. The only blemish on his indoor record was a poor showing in Madrid, where he also was the defending champion. Admittedly, his third round loss to Juan Martin Del Potro could be attributed to a lack of focus – Nalbandian was feuding with the Argentine camp at the time over the choice of venue for the upcoming Davis Cup tie between Argentina and Spain.

Tennis Betting Verdict: David Nalbandian is on a late season push with a slim hope of qualifying for the Shanghai Masters Cup. If he beats Murray on Friday, naturally he would still have a chance to make the eight-man roster. Another incentive for Nalbandian to win here is defending the points he earned in Paris last year. As the defending champion, if he does not win this event this year he would lose the points earned and a ranking drop would ensue.