Andy Murray returns to the Queens Championship for the first time since 2021, aiming to secure a potential seeding at this year’s Wimbledon.
Murray, who withdrew from Queens in 2022, returns to the tournament as the club’s most successful champion. The grass-loving Murray captured a total of five Queen’s singles titles, including four out of six between 2011 and 2016.
The 38th-ranked Murray has attained his highest ranking since April 2018, following two consecutive titles in Grass court challengers - the Surbiton trophy and the Rothesay Open Nottingham.
Murray enters Queen’s on a 10-match winning streak, but he will find a step-up in competition in his first-round match on Tuesday against the speedy Australian Alex De Minaur. De Minaur is the tournament’s seventh seed and is currently ranked 18th in the world.
To achieve seeding at Wimbledon the ever-determined 36-year-old Murray will need to advance to at least the quarter-finals, while reaching the semi-finals would guarantee a top-32 seeding at this year’s tournament.
Murray is fully aware of the importance of obtaining seeding at this year’s Wimbledon and the wins needed at Queens to achieve this. Murray stated after his challenger victory at Nottingham, “I pretty much know what I have to do and if I make semis I will definitely make seeding. Quarters may be enough.”
If Murray manages to overcome the speedy De Minaur, where he enters as a slight underdog, he will be welcomed in the round of 16 by the winner of Diego Schwartzman vs Mackenzie Mcdonald.
McDonald, currently ranked 67th in the world, is the likely winner over the struggling Argentinian Schwartzmann. This likely match-up versus McDonald in the round of 16 would provide Murray with a relatively fortunate draw, as he would likely enter the match as a favorite.
This route to the quarter-finals, which would likely involve facing De Minaur and McDonald, might be sufficient to secure a seeding for Murray. However, a spot in the semi-finals would guarantee the Scot his first Wimbledon seeding since 2017 when he held the tournament’s No. 1 seed and eventually lost to American Sam Querrey in the quarter-finals.
If Murray manages to win his first two matches, he would likely face American Taylor Fritz in the quarter-finals, with a spot in the semi-finals on the line. Fritz, a skilled grass player, won the ATP 250 Rothesay International at Eastbourne in 2022 and reached the quarter-finals at last year’s Wimbledon.
While success at Queen’s is clearly important for form heading into Wimbledon, Murray’s ability to achieve seeding at Wimbledon appears the main priority.
So why is this special top 32 club at Wimbledon so important?
Being a seed at Wimbledon means that one avoids playing another top 32 ranked player for each of the first two rounds, resulting in most likely a considerably easier draw. Having the opportunity to face lower-ranked players early on is precisely what Murray needs to potentially avoid prolonged matches in the early rounds of Grand Slams, a persistent issue that has significantly affected him in recent years.
With a generally weak cast of players headed to Wimbledon where there isn’t really a formidable No 2 on grass behind Djokovic; Murray is presented with a massive opportunity to get back to his first fourth round at a major since 2017.
Murray, even with his relative lack of success at grand slams recently, is the 10th favorite to win Wimbledon this year, with a price of 35/1 available at Betfair.
The 36-year-old Murray continues to defy expectations since his horrid 2018 and 2019 hip surgeries and will once again be a crowd favourite at both Queen’s and Wimbledon. Look for Murray’s determination and grit to show as he kicks off this hopeful run to seeding tomorrow at 11:00 BST.
