Andy Murray faces difficult draw for Queen’s title defence
Andy Murray has been handed a tough path through the draw at the Aegon Championships at London’s Queen’s Club as he attempts to defend the title he won last year.
The British No. 1 in 2009 became the first home-grown champion of the Wimbledon warm-up since Henry “Bunny” Austin won the title in 1938 when Murray defeated James Blake in the final.
However, if the Scot is to repeat that feat he faces a worst-case scenario of playing fifth seed Marin Cilic in the quarter-finals, top seed Rafael Nadal in the semis and second seed Novak Djokovic in the final this year.
Assuming Murray makes it to the decider and Djokovic isn’t waiting on the opposite side of the net, there’s always the possibility last year’s beaten Wimbledon finalist and four-times champion at Queen’s, Andy Roddick, will be.
If that testing scenario pans out, it’s a stark contrast to Murray’s path to glory at Queen’s last year, when he didn’t face a player ranked inside the top-15 for the entire tournament, the then 16th-ranked Blake being his highest-ranked opponent in his five matches.
There’s also a marked difference in form for Murray as he returns to the Aegon Championships in 2010 without a title under his belt for the year so far. At this time in 2009, he’d won three, and finished the French Open with a career-best showing when he reached the quarter-finals.
Murray’s form woes this year since losing the Australian Open final have been well-documented, and at his lowest ebb the world No. 4 lost consecutive opening matches at the hard court Miami Masters 1000 in March and the clay court Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters in April.
The Scot has battled back since that insipid loss to Philipp Kohlschreiber in Monaco, and after outlasting Richard Gasquet in the round of 128 at Roland Garros, Murray reached the fourth round at the clay court Grand Slam.
There can be little doubt Murray will be looking forward to the change of surface to the grass courts, but the draw has certainly done the local hope no favours as he bids for back-to-back titles at the Queen’s Club.
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