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Tennis fans erupt over Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic development

Novak Djokovic (pictured left) and Andy Murray (pictured right) talk after tennis training.
Novak Djokovic (pictured left) and Andy Murray (pictured right) are set to meet at the Madrid Open in their first tennis clash in more than five years. (Getty Images)

Tennis fans are in for a treat after Andy Murray won back-to-back matches for just the second time in 2022 to set up his first showdown with World No.1 Novak Djokovic in five years.

In his first clay-court event since the 2020 French Open, Murray backed up his first-round win over Dominic Thiem by accounting for 14th-seeded Denis Shapovalov 6-1, 3-6, 6-2.

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Djokovic matched Murray's sublime performance as he defeated Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-2 in what he described as his 'best performance of the year'.

And both grand slam winners advancing means the pair will clash at the Madrid Open in the first meeting between the pair since 2017.

Djokovic and Murray will meet for the 37th time in the Round of 16 at Madrid.

This is the fourth most prominent rivalry in tennis history as they overtake Ivan Lendl and John McEnroe.

Djokovic leads the rivalry 25-11 with the pair sharing 23 grand slams and 51 Masters titles.

Nostalgia will surely play a part in the build-up with the tennis world quickly hyping up the match.

Andy Murray weary of Novak Djokovic clash

While Murray admitted he was excited for the clash against the World No.1, in theory he didn't give himself a huge change of overcoming the 20-time grand slam champ.

“In theory I should have no chance in the match, he’s obviously World No.1 and I’m playing with a metal hip so I shouldn’t have a chance," he said after the match.

"It’s a great opportunity for me to see where my game’s at and to play against him again.”

Djokovic's win improved the Serb's record over Monfils to 18-0 and a rain interruption at 2-2 which forced the roof on centre court to be closed only delayed the inevitable.

Andy Murray (pictured) shakes hands at the net with Denis Shapovalov (pictured right).
Andy Murray (pictured left) defeated Denis Shapovalov (pictured right) at Madrid Open. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

"Just generally very, very good performance," Djokovic said.

"I'm very pleased, considering, you know, that up to today I was not playing my best tennis in the few tournaments that I played this year and still kind of finding my rhythm, finding my groove."

Djokovic arrived in Madrid with a 5-3 record in the three tournaments he has played in 2022.

with AAP

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