Andy Murray quickly relocated from a first title win on grass since 2016 in Surbiton to Nottingham in his quest to be seeded for Wimbledon next month.
Murray’s decision to forego the French Open to focus on his grass court ambitions is already paying off following a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Jurij Rodionov.
The result saw him climb to 40th in the world in this morning’s revised ATP rankings as he turned his ambitions to playing in at the Nottingham Open this week before Queen’s next week.
Murray needs a long run at Queen’s in particular – where far greater ranking points are on offer – in his quest to be seeded at Wimbledon where he was champion in 2013 and again in 2016.
Following his second title in two months having won on clay in Aix-en-Provence, he said: “These next few weeks are really important for trying to get a Wimbledon seeding. I’ve chosen to come and play here and in Nottingham to hopefully get lots of matches under my belt so this week has been the perfect start.
“That’s why I am heading to Nottingham tonight to get some practice in on Monday, albeit light.”
Murray’s wife Kim had surprised him by arriving to watch the match with the couple’s children before a lengthy rain delay saw them head back home again.
“My kids are always asking me when I go away if I am going to come home with a trophy and it’s been rare over the last few years,” he said.
“They actually came two minutes before the rain started and my wife had to take them back home so they missed the end of the match. But I think they watched it on TV – so Sophia, Edie, Teddy and Lola, I’ll bring you all a trophy tonight.”
