The grass court season got underway last week but the first really established event of the campaign begins on Monday when the stars of the tennis world head to London for the Aegon Championship at Queens Club.
Andy Murray headlines the field as the defending champion and all eyes will be on the French Open semi-finalist to see how he begins the grass court season. He faces some pretty tough opposition if he is to defend his title successfully this week.
Recent Winners
2016 – Andy Murray
2015 – Andy Murray
2014 – Grigor Dimitrov
2013 – Andy Murray
2012 – Marin Cilic
2011 – Andy Murray
2010 – Sam Querrey
2009 – Andy Murray
2008 – Rafael Nadal
2007 – Andy Roddick
The Format
32 men have made it into the main draw this week and the draw has been pre-determined. Every match is the best of three sets and there is a tie-break in the final set. The final is set to be played on June 25 weather permitting.
Top Half
Andy Murray is in the top half of the draw this week as the number one seed. In terms of seeds he is opposed by Marin Cilic, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Nick Kyrgios. The quality of this tournament is highlighted by those who aren’t seeded who are in this section. They include Gilles Muller who won a tournament in the Netherlands on Sunday, John Isner and Steve Johnson among others.
Bottom Half
French Open finalist Stan Wawrinka is the second seed this week and he is in this part of the draw alongside the man who lost to Andy Murray in the final of this event last year in Milos Raonic. The other two seeds are Tomas Berdych and Grigor Dimitrov. Feliciano Lopez just lost the final in Stuttgart and he’s in this section as an unseeded player as are Britain’s Kyle Edmund and doubles specialist Nicolas Mahut.
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Betting
I’m going to go with a couple of bets in this tournament, one from each half of the draw. In the top half I fancy the former champion Marin Cilic to go well. Cilic had a surprisingly good French Open where he made it to the quarter finals on a surface which never really suits him. This one does with the way he serves and if that serve can be in good touch this week then on what should be quick courts after a heatwave in London the Croat has the tools to regain the crown.
The bottom half of the draw lacks real depth and with the exception of Milos Raonic even the star names can be vulnerable. Stan Wawrinka often needs a match or two to get his footing on grass and has the horror first round draw of Feliciano Lopez while Tomas Berdych can be inconsistent.
With that in mind we might get a surprise finalist like two years ago when Kevin Anderson lost to Andy Murray in the Championship game. Kyle Edmund has similar credentials to the South African in that he has a decent serve and a huge forehand and a combination of the two could take him through the draw here. I’ll chance my arm on the Brit at an insane price.
Tips
PLACED – Back M.Cilic to win Aegon Championships (e/w) for a 1.5/10 stake at 17.00 with Boylesports (1/2 1-2)
Back him here:
Back K.Edmund to win Aegon Championships (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 151.00 with Betfred (1/2 1-2)
Back him here:
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