Top seed Andy Murray takes on wildcard entrant Marius Copil in his second-round match of 2017 Madrid Masters at the Manzanares Park Tennis Center on Tuesday.
While the two players have not met in the past, Murray holds the edge over his Romanian opponent as the latter has not beaten a top-10 player ever in his career. The world number 110, who has won three Challenger titles so far, will face an uphill task when he faces the world number one later today.
Murray though will have a lot to prove when he steps on the Madrid court. The 29-year-old has not had a good season so far and he will have to get back to his best as early as possible if he is to retain his numero uno tag.
Murray began his campaign on clay at the Monte Carlo Masters after returning from an elbow injury that made him skip Miami Open. However, the return to the red dirt was not inspiring enough as the Scot was ousted in the second round by eventual runner-up Albert Ramos-Vinolas.
However, in last month's Barcelona Open, Murray was able to avenge his defeat against Ramos-Vinolas in the quarter-final, but the top seed fell in the semi-final against Dominic Thiem.
Murray will favour Madrid, which has become his favourite hunting ground after he won the title in 2015 and finished as runner-up last year. A comfortable victory over the Romanian wildcard will give the top seed enough confidence to go the distance in the ongoing tournament.
