Murray faces confidence crisis after Queen’s shocker
The World No. 1 lost 76(4), 62 to World No.90 Jordan Thompson in first round
Andy Murray admits he will have to improve dramatically to mount a successful defence of his Wimbledon title after the world No 1 suffered an embarrassing Queen’s Club exit.
Murray crashed to one of the worst defeats of his glittering career on Tuesday as Australian world number 90 Jordan Thompson ended his reign as Queen’s champion with an astonishing 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 first round victory.
Making the 30-year-old’s humiliation even worse, Thompson, originally beaten in the qualifying rounds, was only playing as a last minute replacement for the injured Aljaz Bedene.
It was the worst possible preparation for Wimbledon, with the grass-court Grand Slam set to get under way on July 3.
“I said before the tournament there was still a lot of work to be done, and after the French Open I knew that I was still quite far from where I needed to be,” Murray said.
“One tournament doesn’t change all of what had gone on just beforehand. So that’s why I got back on the practice court quite soon after the French.
“But I was certainly feeling better in the build-up here than I was going into the French. I would have expected to have played and done a bit better.”
Murray has now failed to get past the second round in three of his last four tournaments. and has lost before the quarterfinals six times this year.
It is a remarkable crisis for a player who just eight months ago was sitting on top of the world after a golden year that including titles at Wimbledon, the Olympics and the ATP Tour Finals.