ATP Queens

Andy Murray set for Emotional Return at Queen’s Club

Posted by Admin on June 28, 2019

Posted in: ATP. Tagged: Andy Murray, ATP Queens, Queen's Club. Leave a comment

Tennis fans from all over the world will delight at the sight of Britain’s Andy Murray stepping out into a competitive arena for this first time since undergoing hip resurfacing surgery back in January.

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The former world No. 1 will line up alongside Feliciano Lopez in the doubles event at the Fever-Tree Championships at Queen’s. How he performs on the grass in London will play a big part in helping him decide whether to return to singles action this summer.

Back to the scene of first ATP win

The three-time Grand Slam winner won his first-ever ATP title at Queen’s Club and it has proved to be his most successful tournament with five wins, the last coming against Milos Raonic in 2016. The Briton announced he had been pain-free since recovering from the operation and has made good progress on the practice courts.

The doubles event will give him a chance to return to competitive action without putting himself through the strain of the singles event which features a strong line-up this year. Defending champion Marin Cilic will be joined by Juan Martin del Potro, Kevin Anderson, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Stan Wawrinka, Milos Raonic and Denis Shapovalov at the men’s ATP World Tour 500 series event.

Wimbledon singles return unlikely

Murray is expected to play more doubles tennis at Eastbourne and Wimbledon but is unlikely to return to singles action until after the US Open. Despite that, some bookies still have him the listed in the Wimbledon odds for the singles events with prices of around 33/1 available.

Age no barrier

With no exact time scale set for his singles return, it will be a case of watching and waiting for fans of the 32-year-old. However, if he can remain pain-free, there is no reason he cannot compete at the top level again. Rafa Nadal has just won his 18th Grand Slam aged 33 after coming back from injury and Roger Federer was 36 when he won the 2018 Australian Open, his 20th major title. Meanwhile, 2019 Australian Open champion, Novak Djokovic, is just a week younger than Murray and still ranked No. 1 in the world.

Six months out

Murray last played a singles match at the Australian Open in January and many believed that would be his last ever match as a top-level pro – especially in light of the emotional speech he gave when he bowed out of the tournament. However, having decided to undergo surgery, the popular Scot could have added years to his career.

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Big Weekend for Croatia as Marin Cilic and Borna Coric Score Final Upsets
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

ATP Queens

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Marin Cilic defeated Novak Djokovic 5-7 7-6 6-3 to capture the Queens Club title, the result is a big one for Cilic as he won the match despite a steep h2h disadavantage against the Serbian superstar and he came back from a set down to win.

Cilic claimed his first title of 2018 after wins against Fernando Verdasco, Gilles Muller, Sam Querrey, and Nick Kyrgios to reach the final. He dropped sets to Muller and Djokovic but all in all put together a tremendous week on grass against solid competition that suggests he could win the Wimbledon title in a few weeks time.

Djokovic is rounding into form on grass as he blitzed past John Millman, Grigor Dimitrov, Adrian Mannarino, and Jeremy Chardy to reach the final without dropping a set. Alongside Cilic he will have a great chance of winning Wimbledon.

Henri Kontinen and John Peers defeated Murray/Soares in the doubles final.

ATP Halle

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Croatia’s Borna Coric stunned Roger Federer 7-6 3-6 6-2 in Halle to claim his second career ATP title, this time on grass as a massive underdog. Coric didn’t drop a set until the final as he blitzed past Alexander Zverev, Nikoloz Basilashvili, Andreas Seppi, and Roberto Bautista Agut.

Federer struggled while reaching the final, as he was challenged by Aljaz Bedene, Benoit Paire, Matthew Ebden, and Denis Kudla. Coric was his toughest opponent of the tournament and at that point he finally suffered a loss. His first on grass this season.

Kubot/Melo beat the Zverev brothers to win the doubles final.

Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, and Stan Wawrinka All In Action at ATP London Queens
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

The Fever-Tree Championships 500 on Grass at London Queens is a pivotal warm-up tournament for Wimbledon, accordingly many ATP stars are back in action including Andy Murray who returns to the ATP Tour after a long injury layoff. Here is your look at all the action.

Top Half:

Marin Cilic, the top seed, faces Fernando Verdasco round 1 and Denis Shapovalov or Gilles Muller round 2, a pretty brutal opening start. Cilic is good enough on this surface though to suggest he’ll win both matches and reach the quarterfinals.

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Stan Wawrinka is not in good form but Cam Norrie and Jay Clarke or Sam Querrey isn’t the worst start in the world. I’ll back Wawrinka to edge Norrie but fall to Sam Querrey as Querrey should reach the quarterfinals before losing to Cilic.

Milos Raonic played well in Stuttgart, reaching the final, and should ease past Yuki Bhambri and Feliciano Lopez or David Goffin to reach the quarters. I’ll back Lopez to upset Goffin but Raonic to win the section and defeat Nick Kyrgios in the quarters. Kyrgios also had a great run on grass in Stuttgart and should defeat Andy Murray in his return from a hip injury. Kyle Edmund is also in this section and should defeat Ryan Harrison before falling to Kyrgios.

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Bottom Half:

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With #2 seed Grigor Dimitrov struggling look for Novak Djokovic to benefit. Djokovic should defeat qualifier John Millman and then Dimitrov (or Damir Dzumhur) to reach the quarters. I’ll back wild card Dan Evans to await Djokovic at that stage, Evans has been fantastic on grass since returning from a drug ban, he should beat a struggling Adrian Mannarino, and Tomas Berdych or Julien Benneteau before falling to Djokovic.

Kevin Anderson looks set to make a nice run, Leonardo Mayer and Jared Donaldson or Frances Tiafoe will be his first set of opponents. Jack Sock could await in the quarters with Sock facing Daniil Medvedev and Tim Smyczek or Jeremy Chardy in round 2. I’ll back Medvedev over Sock and Chardy but Anderson to win the quarterfinal.

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Prediction

semis
Raonic d. Cilic
Djokovic d. Anderson

I’ll back Raonic to go one further than the previous week and take the title. Cilic and Djokovic are good opponents but if Raonic serves well he could fight his way to a massive title this week.

final
Raonic d. Djokovic

Fan Favorites Federer and Lopez Use Vintage Form To Capture Grass Titles
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

ATP Halle

Roger Federer banked his ninth Halle title, and made a case for renaming the tournament after him as he dominated on German grass yet again to defeat Alexander Zverev 6-1 6-3 in the final. Federer moves to 24-2 on the year, shaking off an early loss on grass last week and not dropping a set in Halle as he drubbed Yuichi Sugita, Mischa Zverev, Florian Mayer, and Karen Khachanov to reach the final. Federer being one of the few ATP players to defeat a pair of brothers en route to a title.

the younger Zverev moved to 33-12 on the season, reaching a fourth final this season by fighting past Roberto Bautista Agut, and Richard Gasquet in consecutive fashion, both wins needing three sets. Earlier in the week he flexed his skills against Paolo Lorenzi and Philipp Kohlschreiber. Both finalists sohuld perform well at Wimbledon, with Federer strengthening his case to be the favorite at SW19 in one week’s time.

Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo defeated the Zverev brothers in the doubles final, as Alexander Zverev was a double runner-up this week.

ATP London Queen’s

Feliciano Lopez has reached consecutive grass court finals, and is enjoying the best part of his season, this time in the final he didn’t let the chance at a title pass him by, winning ATP title #6 4-6 7-6 7-6 as the underdog against Marin Cilic. Playing in his second final of the year, only the closest margins denied Cilic, who had a match point, the champions trophy. He still had a good week, defeating Gilles Muller in the semifinals (three sets), and three Americans, John Isner, Stefan Kozlov, and Donald Young, all without dropping a set, as Cilic would not be someone the USA would want to face in Davis Cup.

Lopez had a much tougher draw, but he didn’t let it phase him. His serve clicked and he got past Stan Wawrinka, Jeremy Chardy, Tomas Berdych, and Grigor Dimitrov, three of those four victories, plus the one against Cilic all coming against some of the best players in the men’s game right now. Simply put, no one wants to draw Lopez early at Wimbledon, as he should be able to do damage.

The home fans enjoyed Jamie Murray teaming with Bruno Soares to take the doubles title against Julien Benneteau and Edouard Roger-Vasselin.

2016 ATP Grass Court Season Recap: Murray and Thiem Soar
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

The last four ATP grass court tournaments after the French Open featured most of the top players looking to get practice before Wimbledon, and a host of players making strong runs. Many of these players will likely find themselves wishing their was more grass court tennis after Wimbledon, while others are already ready for hard court action.

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ATP Stuttgart

Austrian superstar Dominic Thiem has moved into the top 8 after his fourth title of the season was won in Stuttgart at the Mercedes Cup. Thiem has won titles on all of the surfaces (hard court, clay, and grass) already this season and has clearly demonstrated his all-court prowess. Thiem beat Sam Groth, Mikhail Youzhny, and grass court legend Roger Federer, before toppling Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber in the final. Only against Groth did Thiem not drop a set, but he showed great fight to prevail in his matches. Kohlschreiber had defeated Thiem earlier this season in a clay final, so the Austrian got his revenge.

The German defeated Pierre-Hugues Herbert, Denis Kudla, Radek Stepanek, and Juan Martin Del Potro to reach the final. Del Potro showed great form as he continues his return from serious wrist injuries.

Marcus Daniell and Artem Sitak defeated Fabrice Martin and Oliver Marach in the doubles final.

ATP ‘s-Hertogenbosch (Den Bosch)

Nicolas Mahut won a second consecutive, and a third overall Den Bosch title as he defeated fellow big server Gilles Muller in the final. Mahut defeated Lukas Lacko, Paul-Henri Mathieu, Bernard Tomic, and Sam Querrey en route to the final, surviving in three sets against all but Lacko and Muller. The Frenchman clearly enjoys playing in Holland.

Muller contested his second career ATP final as he defeated Robin Haase, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, David Ferrer, and Ivo Karlovic to get that far. Both Ferrer and Tomic disappointing. At 33 he’s still looking for an elusive first ATP title.

Mate Pavic and Michael Venus defeated Dominic Inglot and Raven Klaasen in the doubles final as New Zealanders won both doubles titles on offer last week.

ATP Halle

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Florian Mayer stunningly captured his first title since 2011 as the oft-injured German will return to the top 100. Mayer defeated countryman Alexander Zverev in the final, the passionate Zverev simply didn’t have consistency to prevail in the third set. Mayer with his funky game has seen a resurgence in his tennis on grass this season. The 32 year old defeated Brian Baker, got a walkover against Kei Nishikori, and then defeated Andreas Seppi, and the in-form Dominic Thiem to reach the final.

The 19 year old Zverev dropped his second career ATP final after posting wins over Viktor Troicki, Benjamin Becker, Marcos Baghdatis, and most surprisingly, Roger Federer in three sets. Federer will now enter Wimbledon without a grass court title, though he entered two events. The Swiss legend hasn’t won an ATP title this season.

Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram defeated Alexander Peya and Lukasz Kubot in the doubles final.

ATP London Queen’s

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Andy Murray was a set and a break down against Milos Raonic before he fought back to capture a fifth career London Queen’s title. Murray defeated Nicolas Mahut, Aljaz Bedene, Kyle Edmund, and Marin Cilic, as he dropped sets against Edmund and Cilic, along with Raonic. Murray has been in tremendous form as he moved to 33-6 on the season with two ATP titles. Murray hasn’t lost a match before the final since Monte Carlo.

Raonic defeated Nick Kyrgios, Jiri Vesely, Roberto Bautista Agut, and Bernard Tomic to reach his third ATP final of the season. The Canadian has established himself as a possible Wimbledon dark horse.

Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert defeated Chris Guccione and Andre Sa in the doubles final as they will perhaps be the Wimbledon men’s doubles favorites given their prowess on grass and great success this season as a team.

Big Four ATP Title Weekend as Murray, Federer Claim Titles in London Queens and Halle
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

ATP London Queens

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It was title #4 for home hero Andy Murray at London Queens as he pulled double duty and won a pair of matches on Sunday to earn the trophy. Murray won the final 6-3 6-4 over Kevin Anderson. Though Anderson was strong on serve, he had nothing to trouble Murray on the return, and Murray got the breaks he needed for a routine win. Previously in the day, the British #1 defeated Viktor Troicki 6-3 7-6. Troicki, who was in good form, was tied at 3-3 in the first set before rain came on Saturday, delaying the match, and he lost three straight games on the trot, before recovering to challenge Murray in a tight second set, the tiebreak ending 7-4.

Murray, who has had an excellent season and now has three titles, with trophies on both grass and clay, will enter Wimbledon as a co-favorite after defeating Rendy Lu, and Fernando Verdasco without dropping a set, and Gilles Muller in three sets, from a set down, before the semifinal against Troicki. Muller dispatched defending champion Grigor Dimitrov in round 2 without dropping a set.

Anderson survived going down a set and a break against Lleyton Hewitt, as he clawed back to win in three sets in round 1. Big Kev used that big win as a springboard to upset Stan Wawrinka in two tiebreaks, and then Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in straights, and Gilles Simon in three sets in the semis. When his game is clicking, he’s a great player, and this week the South African was firing his serve and his forehand on point.

Look for a report on the doubles tournament from Joe Craven coming soon!

ATP Halle

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Murray’s 4 titles at Queens pale in comparison to the domination Roger Federer has found in Halle, as he the Swiss legend claimed his 8th title at the German grass court venue with a 7-6 6-4 win over Andreas Seppi. Seppi couldn’t upset Federer like he did in Australia, though he put up a good effort, and he’s struggled to get over the title hump in a topsy turvy 2015.

The Swiss maestro was match points down against Philipp Kohlschreiber in round 1, but survived in a third set tiebreak, as Kohli’s serve failed him under pressure, and his groundstrokes soon followed with Federer’s stern responses on the ground. Federer would go on to defeat Ernests Gulbis, and funky Florian Mayer without dropping a set, and in the semis he survived Ivo Karlovic, while barely winning any points on Dr. Ivo’s serve, only taking the advantage when needed in a pair of tiebreaks. Karlovic doctored his way past Tomas Berdych in the quarterfinals.

Seppi scored some big wins this week, as he defeated veterans Tommy Haas and Tommy Robredo, the first in straights, and the second in three sets, and then got retirement wins over Gael Monfils, and Kei Nishikori, who both pulled out mid-match as precautionary moves before Wimbledon. The Italian veteran truly has a diverse all-court game.

Look for Joe Craven’s doubles update soon!

Steen Kirby (Marseille)

2015 ATP Draw Challenge Week 22 (London Queens and Halle)
Staff, Tennis Atlantic

A pair of 500 level tournaments are up for grabs as the grass court season on the ATP Tour continues on with a strong field of top players at tournaments in both England and Germany.

London Queens

2015 Aegon Championships Predictions

Steen Kirby’s picks

Round 2 matches: Murray vs. Verdasco, Muller vs. Dimitrov, Cilic vs. Troicki, Isner vs. Lopez, Goffin vs. Chardy, Gasquet vs. Raonic, Nadal vs.Garcia-Lopez, Anderson vs. Kyrgios
Quarterfinals: Murray vs. Dimitrov, Cilic vs. Lopez, Chardy vs. Gasquet, Nadal vs. Kyrgios
Semifinals: Murray vs. Cilic, Gasquet vs. Kyrgios
Final: Murray vs. Kyrgios
Champion: Murray

Niall Clarke’s picks

Round 2 matches: Murray vs. Verdasco, Muller vs. Dimitrov, Cilic vs. Troicki, Isner vs. Lopez, Goffin vs. Chardy, Gasquet vs. Raonic, Nadal vs. Garcia-Lopez, Anderson vs. Wawrinka
Quarterfinals: Murray vs. Dimitrov, Cilic vs. Lopez, Chardy vs. Gasquet, Nadal vs. Kyrgios
Semifinals: Murray vs. Cilic, Raonic vs. Nadal
Final: Murray vs. Nadal
Champion: Murray

Joe Craven’s picks

Round 2 matches: Murray vs. Verdasco, Muller vs. Dimitrov, Cilic vs. Troicki, Isner vs. Lopez, Simon vs. Kokkinakis, Bolelli vs. Raonic, Nadal vs. Garcia-Lopez, Anderson vs. Kyrgios
Quarterfinals: Murray vs. Dimitrov, Cilic vs. Lopez, Kokkinakis vs. Raonic, Nadal vs. Kyrgios
Semifinals: Murray vs. Lopez, Raonic vs. Kyrgios
Final: Murray vs. Kyrgios
Champion: Murray

Jeff McMillan’s picks

Round 2 matches: Murray vs. Verdasco, Muller vs. Dimitrov, Cilic vs. Troicki, Isner vs. Lopez, Simon vs. Chardy, Gasquet vs. Raonic, Nadal vs. Garcia-Lopez, Anderson vs. Wawrinka
Quarterfinals: Murray vs. Dimitrov, Cilic vs. Isner, Chardy vs. Raonic, Nadal vs. Wawrinka
Semifinals: Murray vs. Isner, Raonic vs. Nadal
Final: Murray vs. Raonic
Champion: Murray

Chris de Waard’s picks

Round 2 matches: Murray vs. Bautista Agut, Muller vs. Dimitrov, Cilic vs. Troicki, Isner vs. Lopez, Simon vs. Kokkinakis, Gasquet vs. Raonic, Nadal vs.Garcia-Lopez, Anderson vs. Kyrgios
Quarterfinals: Murray vs. Dimitrov, Cilic vs. Lopez, Simon vs. Gasquet, Nadal vs. Kyrgios
Semifinals: Murray vs. Cilic, Gasquet vs. Kyrgios
Final: Murray vs. Kyrgios
Champion: Murray

Andy Murray is the consensus favorite to take the title, while the Stan Wawrinka/Nick Kyrgios match will play a huge role in deciding the finalist from the bottom half.

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Halle

2015 Gerry Weber Open Predictions

Steen Kirby’s picks

Round 2 matches: Federer vs. Gulbis, Struff vs. Tomic, Berdych vs. Young, Nieminen vs. Karlovic, Robredo vs. Haas, Vesely vs. Monfils, Janowicz vs. Falla, Brown vs. Nishikori
Quarterfinals: Federer vs. Tomic, Berdych vs. Karlovic, Haas vs. Monfils, Janowicz vs. Nishikori
Semifinals: Federer vs. Berdych, Monfils vs. Nishikori
Final: Federer vs. Nishikori
Champion: Federer

Niall Clarke’s picks

Round 2 matches: Federer vs. Stakhovsky, Struff vs. Tomic, Berdych vs. Young, A. Zverev vs. vs. Karlovic, Robredo vs. Haas, Kukushkin vs. Monfils, Janowicz vs. Falla, Brown vs. Nishikori
Quarterfinals: Federer vs. Tomic, Berdych vs. Karlovic, Haas vs. Monfils, Falla vs. Nishikori
Semifinals: Federer vs. Berdych, Monfils vs. Nishikori
Final: Federer vs. Nishikori
Champion: Federer

Joe Craven’s picks

Round 2 matches: Federer vs. Stakhovsky, Struff vs. Tomic, Berdych vs. Young, A. Zverev vs. vs. Karlovic, Berankis vs. Seppi, Kukushkin vs. Rosol, Janowicz vs. Falla, Brown vs. Nishikori
Quarterfinals: Federer vs. Tomic, Berdych vs. Karlovic, Berankis vs. Rosol, Janowicz vs. Nishikori
Semifinals: Federer vs. Berdych, Rosol vs. Nishikori
Final: Federer vs. Rosol
Champion: Federer

Jeff McMillan’s picks

Round 2 matches: Federer vs. Stakhovsky, Struff vs. Tomic, Berdych vs. Young, A. Zverev vs. Karlovic, Berankis vs. Seppi, Vesely vs. Monfils, Janowicz vs. Lacko, Brown vs. Nishikori
Quarterfinals: Federer vs. Tomic, Berdych vs. Karlovic, Seppi vs. Monfils, Janowicz vs. Nishikori
Semifinals: Tomic vs. Berdych Monfils vs. Nishikori
Final: Berdych vs. Monfils
Champion: Berdych

Chris de Waard’s picks

Round 2 matches: Federer vs. Stakhovsky, F. Mayer vs. Tomic, Berdych vs. Young, A. Zverev vs. Karlovic, Berankis vs. Seppi, Vesely vs. Monfils, Janowicz vs. Lacko, Brown vs. Nishikori
Quarterfinals: Federer vs. Tomic, Berdych vs. Karlovic, Seppi vs. Monfils, Janowicz vs. Nishikori
Semifinals: Federer vs. Berdych, Seppi vs. Nishikori
Final: Federer vs. Nishikori
Champion: Federer

Federer-Nishikori is a near consensus pick for the final in Halle.

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Week 21 standings

Stuttgart
1: Steen (54 points) (+250 overall)
2: Niall (44 points) (+150 overall)
3: Joe (42 points) (+90 overall)
4: Chris (40 points) (+90 overall)
5: Jeff (0 points) (+0 overall)

Den Bosch
1: Niall (66 points) (+250 overall)
2: Joe (48 points) (+150 overall)
3: Jeff(48 points) (+90 overall)
4: Steen (46 points) (+90 overall)
5: Chris (28 points) (+45 overall)

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Overall standings (after week 21)

1: Steen: 10,600 ranking points (+340 points overall)
2: Niall: 9670 points (+400 points overall)
3: Joe 7760 points (+240 points overall)
4: Jeff: 6800 points (+90 points overall)
5: Chris: 6735 points (+135 points overall)

No movement in the standings, but Steen and Niall continue to pull away from everyone else after both winning titles this week. Joe and the others will need to step up to make this a race.

ATP Draw Challenge (London Queens)

Tennis Atlantic

Because Matches Are Never Played in the Media Tent

All posts tagged ATP Queens

Andy Murray set for Emotional Return at Queen’s Club

Back to the scene of first ATP win

Wimbledon singles return unlikely

Age no barrier

Six months out

Big Weekend for Croatia as Marin Cilic and Borna Coric Score Final Upsets

Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, and Stan Wawrinka All In Action @QueensTennis

Fan Favorites Federer and Lopez Use Vintage Form To Capture Grass Titles

2016 ATP Grass Court Season Recap: Murray and Thiem Soar

Big Four ATP Title Weekend as Murray, Federer Claim Titles in London Queens and Halle

2015 ATP Draw Challenge Week 22 (London Queens and Halle)

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