Queen’s Club draw: Carlos Alcaraz set for debut as Andy Murray has nasty path to negotiate

Shahida Jacobs
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Carlos Alcaraz during a match
Carlos Alcaraz in action

Carlos Alcaraz will open his first-ever Queen’s Club Championship campaign against a qualifier while Andy Murray has been dealt a nightmare draw.

Top seed Alcaraz will play his first match since his French Open semi-final defeat to Novak Djokovic just over a week ago when he takes on a yet-to-be determined qualifier in the first round of the ATP 500 event.

Should the world No 2 come through that match then he will face either Jiri Lehecka or Alejandro Davidovich Fokina while a quarter-final clash against two-time Queen’s Club champion Matteo Berrettini is in the pipeline.

However, Berrettini has struggled since returning to action following several weeks on the sidelines due to an abdominal injury.

Alcaraz, who will play in only his third top-level tournament on grass, could return to the top of the ATP Rankings by winning the tournament, but there are several big guns in the draw.

The Spaniard is projected to meet fourth seed Frances Tiafoe in the quarter-final, although the American faces Botic van de Zandschulp first up while he could take on Dan Evans in the second round with seventh seed Cameron Norrie expected to await in the semi-final.

The bottom half of the draw is equally loaded as Holger Rune is the second seed with five-time champion Murray also featuring.

Murray, who is on a nine-match winning run on grass after reaching the second-tier Nottingham Open final, has a nightmare draw as he will face seventh seed Alex de Minaur in the first round.

If the former world No 1 gets past the Australian then he could face Diego Schwartzman in the second round while a third seed Taylor Fritz, who faces Bernabe Zapata Miralles in the first round, is most most likely to await in the quarter-final.

The in-form Rune is the headline act in the bottom half and the Dane faces Maxime Cressy in the first round with either Ugo Humbert or wildcard Ryan Peniston the second-round opponent.

Rune is up to No 6 in the ATP Rankings following his run to the quarter-final of the French Open, but the Dane is yet to win a match on grass at ATP Tour level.

If the seedings hold, then Rune will meet sixth seed Lorenzo Musetti is in the last eight and Fritz in the semi-final.

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