ANDY Murray believes he cannot allow Fernando Verdasco to dictate play when the pair meet in the final of the Dubai Duty Free Championships.
The world number one, who is looking to secure his first title of the season, has a superb record against the Spaniard, winning 12 of their previous 13 meetings.
Despite the head-to-head statistics, Murray is wary of the threat posed by the world number 35.
“Obviously this week he’s had some good wins,” the Scot told the ATP World Tour website. “I think where the balls are fairly heavy here on a quick court, he can generate a lot of power, he can control the ball.
“And when he’s dictating the points, he’s one of the best in the world at doing that.”
Murray, whose only defeat against Verdasco came at the 2009 Australian Open, admits to being impressed by the way his opponent has begun the new season.
The Madrid-born 33-year-old has so far suffered twice at the hands of world number two Novak Djokovic in 2017, losing to the Serbian in the semi-finals of the Qatar Open in Doha before being beaten in the Australian Open first round.
“He’s had a pretty good start to the year,” Murray added.
“Obviously tough draw in Australia (Djokovic in the first round), but he played well in Doha.”
Murray, a runner-up in Dubai in 2012, secured his final place with a 7-5, 6-1 success over seventh seed Lucas Pouille.
The 29-year-old Scot was forced to fight for the first set against the Frenchman before producing a dominant display in the second.
He felt his gruelling quarter-final victory over Philipp Kohlschreiber had an impact on his performance and the quality of the match.
“It was tough,” he added. “I don’t think it was the best match but there was some good stuff in there.
“I think potentially matches yesterday had something to do with that.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here