First match ‘so tricky’

Andy Murray’s run to the last four at Roland Garros appeared to mark the end of his disappointing 2017 run – but any resurgence was halted at Queen’s by a surprise defeat to Australian lucky loser Jordan Thompson.

“I wasn’t really surprised,” coach Ivan Lendl said.

“The first match on grass is always tricky. The guys who beat Stan Wawrinka, Milos Raonic and Andy had played qualifying or the previous week at a tournament.

“Guys play matches, feel a little bit more comfortable than the guys who didn’t play.” before it has even begun. Asked if he was concerned about Murray’s preparation, Lendl told various national newspapers on Thursday: “Not at all. Unlike before Paris, he is hitting the ball really well. Practice has gone well.”

Murray rested on Wednesday and Thursday and is now facing a race against time to be fit for his opener against Kazakh Alexander Bublik, which is just two days away on Centre Court.

His mother Judy Murray was asked on BBC Radio 2 if her son will be there on Monday. She said: “I would say so”.

The three-time grand slam champion has only played two competitive sets on grass in the lead-up to Wimbledon after his shock first-round exit at Queen’s last week.

Lendl, however, indicated Murray’s hitting in practice has been much better than ahead of the French Open, when the Briton was also struggling for form but went on to reach the semi-finals.

“I just felt that he hadn’t hit enough balls as opposed to here, where he has hit enough balls,” said Lendl.

“My feeling was that he was not picking the right shot because he hadn’t played enough and that he didn’t have the safety of saying: ‘OK, I can hit this shot 15 times in a row if I have to’ and that all comes from competition.

“I thought he was a couple of points away from the Paris final actually.”