The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Murray ‘nervous’ ahead of today’s return at Queen’s
TENNIS: Pair will play at Fever-Tree Championships at Queen’s Club
Nick Kyrgios afforded himself a smile when it was confirmed he would be the man on the other side of the net for Andy Murray’s long-awaited comeback.
Kyrgios and Murray are good friends and they go head to head in the Fever-Tree Championships at Queen’s Club today as the Scot finally returns after 11 months out with a hip injury.
It will be 342 days since Murray last took to court in a competitive match, a Wimbledon quarter-final loss to Sam Querrey, and Australian Kyrgios is excited to be the man playing him.
“I just smiled when I saw the draw,” Kyrgios said.
“I am excited, one of my better mate son tour.
“It’s good to see him back ultimately, I think it has been pretty rubbish without him.
“I am looking forward to going out and playing but to see him healthy is the main thing, I think he is awesome for the sport.
All eyes will be on how Murray fares after such a lengthy break and Kyrgios admits he does not know what to expect.
“I’m going to go out there and play like I always play,” he said.
“I want to serve big and play big and try and win.”
Murray came through another practice session yesterday, on the adjacent court to Kyrgios.
And he pulled up well, playing a practice set with American Reilly Opelka which Murray competed well in.
Despite that, he does not expect to beat the Australian today.
He told Amazon Prime, which is streaming the tournament live: “In terms of my expectations, they are extremely low. I’m not expecting to win against Kyrgios – I don’t think it would be right to think that way after such a long time out, but obviously I want to be competitive.”
Britain suffered their first casualty of the tournament when Cameron Norrie lost to Stan Wawrinka.
Norrie, ranked 79 in the world, was beaten 6-2 6-3 by the three-time grand slam champion.
Fellow Briton Jay Clarke did not fare much better as he was beaten by Sam Querrey.
The 19-year-old, who was given a wildcard into the tournament, competed well with last year’s Wimbledon semi-finalist but lost 6-3 6-3.
Top seed Marin Cilic cleared the first hurdle in his bid for a first Queen’s title.
The Croatian, runner-up to Feliciano Lopez last year, dispatched Fernando Verdasco 6-3 6-4.
He will now play Gilles Muller in the next round after the 35-year-old got the better of Denis Shapovalov in the first match of the day.
Briton Kyle Edmund is up against American Ryan Harrison today and Dan Evans, making his ATP Tour return following a drugs ban, faces Frenchman Adrian Mannarino.
Edmund was a winner in the doubles yesterday, teaming up with compatriot Neal Skupski, to beat Grigor Dimitrov and Harrison, while defending champions Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares won a tight battle with all-French pair Mannarino and Fabrice Martin.