Andy Murray’s loss in first round of Queen’s ends hope of seeding for Wimbledon

Andy Murray’s hopes of being seeded at Wimbledon came to a bitter, abrupt end in his opening match at Queen’s Club as the five-time champion was soundly defeated 6-3, 6-1 by Alex de Minaur in the first round.

Murray arrived in west London with high expectations having established some positive form on grass. After skipping the French Open, he opted to drop down to ATP Challenger level and competed at events in Surbiton and Nottingham, comfortably winning both tournaments and compiling a 10-match winning run.

However, he looked laboured from the beginning against the Australian seventh seed, spraying unforced errors and moving timidly as De Minaur smothered him with consistent aggression. Murray refused to blame his defeat on his intense schedule as he competed for a third successive week. “I felt OK going into the match. Just didn’t play very well,” he said.

Now ranked 38th, Murray needed a quarter-final at Queen’s Club to give himself a solid chance of being a top‑32 seed at Wimbledon and ensure he could avoid a high seed in the first two rounds. He will instead have to wait to see what the draw produces for him next Friday.