Andy Murray, the current world no. 1 in men's singles is about to kick off the defending campaign on the grass court. The task ahead is seemingly a harsh one as he has to defend the titles both at Queen's and Wimbledon Championships. Last year, this very moment of the season was the point from where he started closing the gap on Djokovic. Now, the table has been turned the other way around having Rafael Nadal who is closing the gap on Murray. While the world no. 1 must find a way to navigate through this troubled waters, the Spaniard is free of any duty with nothing to defend.
Besides Murray, the ATP 500 event from Queen's is having some high-calibres names on its ranks. Stan Wawrinka, Milos Raonic or Marin Cilic are positioning themselves for the grass swing.
Andy Murray will face a fellow compatriot in the opening round
As the first seed of Aegon Championships, Andy Murray is leading the upper half of the draw and is set to face Aljaz Bedene (54 ATP) later today. In head to head stats is Murray who leads by 1-0. Their only ATP level match-up took place last year in the same place as the upcoming clash. If he gets past Bedene, Murray could face Sam Querrey, a dangerous player on a fast surface like grass. Last year, Querrey was the one who successfully shut down Djokovic's machinery at Wimbledon.
The quarterfinals might bring Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on the other side of the battlefield as the Frenchman is already in the second round.Last year, Murray took the title after battling past Milos Raonic in a tight three sets final match. This year, the Canadian could emerge also in the final but he shares the second half of the board with Stan Wawrinka who seemed to have found his mojo at the French Open.
Murray might wanna end those debate about him being a weak world no. 1
Reaching the highest position in men's tennis was another milestone Murray went by. Holding this spot in the last half of the year also put him in a hew light with expectations soaring around him. Failing to maintain an elevated pace over the few months, Murray is in danger to lose that hardly-earned spot after Wimbledon.
Besides, his numbers are far from being great this season as he won only a single title since ATP Finals in London. Overall, he is 21-8 in win/loss department which gives no reason to brag about.
The recently ended clay court swing saw a rejuvenated Murray in its closing stages. After failing early in Madrid and Rome he bounced back to reach the semis of the French Open. He lost that clash against Wawrinka at the end of 5 sets grueling battle but that series of 5 wins in a row en route to the semis is something worth building great things on.
