Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic will face each other for the 36th time in ATP tournaments when they fight it out for the Qatar ExxonMobil Open title on Saturday, 7 January.

Where to Watch Live

The match is set to start at 3pm GMT. Live coverage of the game will be on Eurosport 2.

Overview

Djokovic leads the head-to-head battle 24-11, but Murray comes into the contest as the favourite after dislodging Djokovic from the number one spot last year. The world number one has won eight of his last 10 tournaments, a run of form that includes the 2016 Rio Olympics and Masters 1000 events in Shanghai and Paris. His straight sets win over Tomas Berdych was his 28th in all competitions at a stretch, but a win over Djokovic will be one he will savour.

Murray has cruised to the finals in Doha, having not lost a single set thus far in the tournament, with his latest win coming in the semis against Tomas Berdych. Murray, despite trailing in final head-to-heads between the two parties 10-8, will be confident coming into the game, having beaten him in the World Tour Finals to claim the number one spot. Murray has won twice in the last three meetings between the players, giving him some much needed momentum.

Meanwhile, it has been a difficult semi-final for Djokovic against Fernando Verdasco, where despite leading 4-2 in the first set, the Serbian's form suddenly dropped to the ground, which allowed the Spaniard to win six games in a row to put the Serb in dire straits. Djokovic recovered to force a second-set tie-break, but it didn't go as planned, as Verdasco accrued five match points, but failed to muster any of them, before Djokovic found his form to cruise to victory in the final set.

Victory would provide a much needed psychological advantage heading into the Australian Open, which begins later this month. Djokovic has come victorious in the last five Grand Slam meetings between the pair and has a mental superiority over Murray when it comes to big events, something the Brit has to disprove this time around.

Betting Odds (betfair)

  • Murray Win: 4/6
  • Djokovic win: 5/4

Head to Head

The duo have met each other 35 times, with Djokovic leading the exchange 24-11.

Andy Murray Novak Djokovic