AEGON CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Queen’s Club
9th-15th June, 2014
Murray Back With A Bang As Mauresmo Watches On
Andy Murray returned to where his glorious grass-court journey started twelve months ago and immediately picked up where he left off.
The defending Aegon Championships and Wimbledon champion arrived to a hero’s welcome on the centre court at a packed Queen’s Club and cruised past Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-4, 6-4. He will now face Radek Stepanek in round three.
“I was looking forward to getting back on the court,” said Murray. “I enjoy playing here, I love being back on the grass. Grass is a surface I have always enjoyed. Today was a good start.”
His victory was the first earned in front of new coach Amelie Mauresmo, who earlier joined him on the practice court for the first time. To download footage of them practising together, click here: http://app.aframe.com/links/fd5163d76557385e62ab8ba780447312. After the match, Murray explained why he opted to work with Mauresmo, citing the Frenchwoman’s strengths, his requirements, and her many achievements in the sport. If all goes according to plan, they will work together beyond the grass court season.
“I hope it works out long term because I like her,” said Murray. “She’s a good person. I hope it works out well.”
Elsewhere, Stanislas Wawrinka went through easily because a shoulder injury forced Marcos Baghdatis to retire while 2-3 down. Wawrinka will now take on the 2010 champion Sam Querrey in the third round.
Jo Wilfried Tsonga also prevailed, but four-time champion Lleyton Hewitt fell to Feliciano Lopez, and the French Open semifinalist Ernests Gulbis went out to Kenny De Schepper.
On Thursday, the second seed Tomas Berdych starts against Adrian Mannarino, then Murray faces Radek Stepanek. They are followed on to the court by Wawrinka vs. Querrey and then Jo Wilfried Tsonga vs. Marinko Matosevic.
A cracking doubles match featuring Britain’s Jamie Murray and Australian partner John Peers against the five-time doubles champions Bob and Mike Bryan Bryan will bring the Centre Court programme to a close.
De Schepper vs. Lopez, Grigor Dimitrov vs. Edouard Roger-Vasselin, and Alex Dolgopolov vs. Jarkko Niemenen will be the first three matches on Court One.
For news, results, draws, the order of play, and video content, go to www.aegonchampionships.com
The Aegon Championships has been staged at The Queen’s Club for more than a century.
Andy Murray, who completed the Aegon Championships-Wimbledon double in 2013, will try to join Roddick, Hewitt, John McEnroe and Boris Becker as the only four-time winners of one of the biggest, and most famous trophies in tennis.
In 2015, the Aegon Championships will attain ATP-500 status for the first as part of an expanded grass-court season. Wimbledon will move back a week and the Aegon Championships will be held 15th-21st June, 2015.
Aegon is Lead Partner of British Tennis and is helping to transform the sport in this country. They’re supporting young talent through the Aegon FutureStars programme, as well as sponsoring the junior and senior GB Davis and Fed Cup teams and amateur and professional events. In addition to the Aegon Championships, Aegon sponsor two other world-class grass court tournaments – the Aegon Classic and Aegon International – and will also sponsor the new WTA and ATP events in Nottingham from 2015. For further information visit www.aegontennis.co.uk
The Lawn Tennis Association’s (LTA) mission is to get more people playing tennis more often, and its role is to develop, promote and govern tennis in Britain.
For more information on the LTA and British tennis, visit: www.lta.org.uk
Topics: AEGON Championships, Amelie Mauresmo, Andy Murray, Bryan Brothers, GRIGOR DIMITROV, Paul Henri Mathieu, Queen's Club, Radek Stepanek, Sam Querrey, Stanislas Wawrinka, Tennis, Tennis News, Tomas Berdych
ANDY MURRAY BACK WITH A BANG AS MAURESMO WATCHES @QUEENS – http://t.co/PKNxXU3RtT @andy_murray @AmeMauresmo #tennis #AegonChampionships