Wimbledon is fast approaching and on Monday the grass-court swing turns its attention to the Queen's Club Championships.
The ATP 500 event is a staple part of the tennis calendar and previous champions have included Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe and Rafael Nadal.
Having been established back in 1969, Queen's once again features a stellar line-up this year with Carlos Alcaraz taking top seed and British duo Cameron Norrie and Dan Evans also looking to make their mark.
Matteo Berrettini has won each of the last two editions of the Queen's Club Championships and will also be looking to retain his singles title.
- Carlos Alcaraz to win
- Taylor Fritz to win
- Cameron Norrie to win
- Matteo Berrettini to win
Alcaraz Expected To Make Impact
After missing the start of the year, including the Australian Open, through injury, Spanish starlet Alcaraz exploded into life during the clay-court season.
This year he has won 35 of his 39 matches and has picked up four titles on the ATP Tour, including the Indian Wells Masters and the Madrid Open.
But Alcaraz will be a touch disappointed with his performance at this year's French Open as he crashed out in the semi-final stage, running into Novak Djokovic who defeated him in four sets before going on to lift the trophy.
Alcaraz had dropped just the one set before the semi-finals and may feel as though the French Open was a missed opportunity given how strong he is on clay.
The focus for Alcaraz is now on the grass-court swing and his first tournament on the surface this year will be Queen's, somewhere he has never appeared before.
The 20-year-old takes the top seed for his maiden Queen's campaign and will be eager to show what he can do on grass, having played just four matches on the faster surface last year with all of them coming at Wimbledon.
Alcaraz eased past Jan-Lennard Struff, Tallon Griekspoor and Oscar Otte before being dumped out by Jannik Sinner at the All England Club in 2022.
The Murcian will avoid second seed Holger Rune in his half of the Queen’s draw but will have work to do in Barons Court, where he will be up against a competitive field.
Fritz A Good Pick
Taking the second seed at Queen's this year is Danish youngster Rune, who looks primed to enjoy an intriguing rivalry with Alcaraz throughout his career.
One of the most promising players in the next generation of male players, Rune has won 30 of his 41 matches on the ATP tour this year and won the Bavarian International on Munich’s clay courts in April.
But it’s perhaps on the slower surface that Rune makes the biggest impact right now and the fact he has yet to go beyond the first round at Wimbledon suggests he’s a little raw when it comes to playing on grass.
However, the same cannot be said for Queen's third seed Taylor Fritz, who could go on a decent run at the Wimbledon warm-up event.
Fritz has already started his grass season at the Stuttgart Open, beating Aslan Karatsev in his opener but losing to Marton Fucsovics in the quarter-finals.
Last year's grass-court swing went well for the American, who won eight of his 11 matches on the surface and reached the last eight at Wimbledon.
Norrie Out To Make An Impression
British ace Norrie made the most of home support at Wimbledon last year when he forged a run to the semi-finals - his best performance at a Grand Slam event.
It was a bit of a struggle at the French Open for Norrie earlier this month as he was taken to five sets by Benoit Paire in his opener before losing to Lorenzo Musetti in straight sets in the third round.
But a return to the grass courts in the UK on Monday should do him the world of good and, while he exited Queen's in the first round last year, he was runner-up to Berrettini in 2021 when unseeded.
This year Norrie is seeded fifth and he will go in search of his second ATP title of the year after winning the Rio Open in Brazil back in February.
Dan Evans, who featured at Surbiton earlier this month, is also on the entry list for Queen's this year.
Berrettini Targets Third Queen's Title
Italian Berrettini has been the master of Queen's the last couple of years, having defeated Norrie 6-4 6-7 6-3 in the 2021 final before edging Filip Krajinovic 7-5 6-4 in last year's final.
A former Wimbledon finalist, Berrettini is therefore targeting a third title on the spin but it’s hard to get enthusiastic about his chances.
It has been a stop-start season for the 27-year-old, who lost his first match of the year against Andy Murray in the opening round of the Australian Open.
He was then out of action due to injury until the Mexican Open and was underwhelming at the Indian Wells and Miami Masters Series events.
A stomach muscle tear ruined his clay-court season and he was missing from the recent French Open.
Berrettini finally returned to the courts at the Stuttgart Open earlier this month, only to lose his first match to compatriot Lorenzo Sonego 6-1 6-2.
In an injury-plagued year, his win-loss record for 2023 stands at a mediocre 7-6 and he is yet to pick up a title this season.
With that in mind, it would take something pretty special for Berrettini, who is unseeded at this year’s tournament, to win Queen's for a third year on the spin.
