French Open 2012 Preview: Andy Murray to Win His Quarter

Andy Murray is a little bit of a tricky player heading into the 2012 French Open. He has not had the greatest clay court season so far and the Scot has never really had a tremendous amount of success at the Grand Slam event in Paris.

But, Murray has made at least the semifinals of five straight majors and last year, he enjoyed his best effort at Roland Garros as he pushed through to the semifinals. Additionally, the Scot appears to have a favorable draw at this year's French Open.

Murray will open his campaign against 69th ranked Tatsumo Ita of Japan, a player who has only ever won one Grand Slam match in his life. Surviving that match, as Murray should, the Scot will likely face Jarkko Nieminen with a third round match probably against either Alejandro Falla or Bernard Tomic. In the fourth round, I suspect Murray will face Richard Gasquet, a player that the Scot has defeated at the French Open before.

Murray shares a quarter with David Ferrer, the sixth seed at Roland Garros. Ferrer did enjoy a stronger clay court season than Murray and the Spaniard is considered the favorite to win the third quarter at the French Open. However, Ferrer's Grand Slam resume is hardly as impressive as Murray's: the Spaniard is 30 years old and only two times has he actually advanced to a Grand Slam semifinal. Importantly, neither of those efforts was at the French Open, a Grand Slam where Ferrer has generally underachieved.

Ferrer is priced at +150 (3/2) to win his quarter with both Stan James and Coral. However, Murray at +250 (5/2) with Paddy Power looks like a much smarter play to make because the Scot has won five straight Grand Slam quarterfinals and nine overall in his career.

If a Murray versus Ferrer quarterfinal match takes place, keep in mind that it would happen in the second week of the slam. That's when players are most tired and I think Murray's five year age advantage would make a big difference in helping the Scot win that match.