The Queen’s Club Championships first round ended yesterday and the second round clashes began today. The 5-time champion, home favorite, Andy Murray, who’s seeded as a wildcard for the tournament, was paired with Australian Jordan Thompson. After this clash, American Sebastian Korda was paired with Grigor Dimitrov, who’s the Queen’s Club’s 3rd seed.
Then, Rinky Hijikata, a qualifier, was paired to face Matteo Arnaldi. Milos Raonic, a protected ranking seed who defeated British No. 2, Cameron Norrie, in the first round, was paired to face American No. 1, Taylor Fritz (4th seed). All four matches took place in the Center Court.
5-Time Queen’s Club Champion Retires
Andy Murray and Jordan Thompson started the day on Center Court. Jordan Thompson started the Queen’s Club second round quickly with a first-game break of Andy Murray’s serve. Jordan Thompson raced to two breakpoints against the former world No. 1 and broke his serve on the first try.
Jordan Thompson then went on to hold his serve, dropping one point on his serve in two minutes, hitting two aces in the process. Andy Murray then went on to hold serve, overcoming the disappointment of a double break at the beginning of the game. Jordan
Jordan Thompson then extended his lead to 3-1, holding his serve. He smashed two winners and dropped just one point when he was at three game points. In the fifth game of the set, Andy Murray dropped the first point to an unforced error. The Australian then raced to a 15-30 lead before the Brit gifted him a second break of his serve with two consecutive double faults. Andy Murray then retired, sending Jordan Thompson to the Queen’s Club third round.
Fritz Wins North American Firecracker
After defeating Cameron Norrie in the Queen’s Club first round, Milos Raonic took on American No. 1, Taylor Fritz. The Canadian hit five aces and one double fault in the first set, holding his serve well enough that he didn’t face a single breakpoint all set. Taylor Fritz eventually won the first set with a tiebreak, putting one foot in the Queen’s Club second round.
In just over five minutes, Raonic and Fritz raced to quick holds of their serves. Milos Raonic dropped the first point on his serve in the third game of the set from the first double fault of the set. He then went on to hold his serve before racing to three breakpoints on the American’s serve immediately after.
Taylor Fritz then capitalized on a winner and an unforced error from Raonic to force the game to deuce before holding his serve. In the ninth game, Taylor Fritz capitalized on a Raonic unforced error and a winner to break his serve. The American then smashed an ace, a winner and rounded up the match with an ace to hold to love in just over a minute. Taylor Fritz will face Jordan Thompson in the Queen’s Club quarterfinal.
Korda Defeats French Open Quarterfinalist
Sebastian Korda took on the 2024 French Open quarterfinalist, Grigor Dimitrov in the Queen’s Club second round. The American took the first set after breaking the Bulgarian’s serve in the seventh game of the set. A Dimitrov double fault had gifted him a breakpoint and a winner sealed the break.
Dimitrov clawed a set back, helped by a break of Korda’s serve in the fourth game before serving out a 39-minute set to win 6-3. Once again, Korda capitalized on a double fault from Dimitrov in the second game of the third set to take a quick break of the Bulgarian’s serve. Dimitrov broke back immediately. Just when it looked like the winner would be determined by a tiebreak, Korda broke Dimitrov’s serve in the 12th game to win the set 5-7.
Sebastian Korda will face Rinky Hijikata in the Queen’s Club quarterfinals after the Australian defeated Matteo Arnaldi with two straight-set tiebreaks. Hijikata won the first set tiebreak without dropping a single point.
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