Andy Murray’s dream of being seeded at Wimbledon came to an end as he fell at the first hurdle at Queen’s. The world No 38 suffered a 6-3 6-1 defeat to seventh seed Alex de Minaur in just an hour and 25 minutes. He needed to win to keep his hopes of being in the top 32 ahead of Wimbledon.
Murray came into Queen’s on a 10-match winning streak on the grass, picking up back-to-back Challenger titles in Surbiton and Nottingham. The Brit had a losing 0-3 record against de Minaur – including at Monte Carlo earlier this year.
He looked to take an early lead with three break points but the seventh seed saved them all to get on the board. But it was de Minaur who pounced first to take a 3-2 lead and he broke Murray for a second time to close out the opener 6-3 in just 48 minutes.
The Australian showed his skill as one of the fastest players on tour and moved effortlessly around the court as he broke Murray again in the second set, taking a stronghold on the match.
The 36-year-old found himself under increasing pressure from de Minaur and fought off three more break points before finally succumbing on the fourth to let the world No 18 serve for the match.
The Brit fought back to save three match points but he couldn’t do enough to get back in the contest as de Minaur snapped Murray’s winning streak with a convincing straight-set victory, dropping just four games.
Murray had been bidding to earn a spot as one of the top 32 seeds at Wimbledon and could have guaranteed it with a semi-final run this week. But he couldn’t translate his winning run on the Challenger circuit to the ATP Tour.
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