THE RACQUET There are a few GIFS & images in this issue. You may need to give it a bit of time to load depending on your Wifi/4g. QUEENS & HALLE - DAY 1 RESULTS 🎾 QUEENS: Featured Matches:

Muller bt Shapovalov 7-6(7) 7-6(6)



Brutal 1st round for Shapo, fought well. Both tiebreaks could have gone either way. Muller had 96% of 1st serve points won (& 64% 1st serves in) which is always going to be a nightmare to play against.



Wawrinka bt Norrie 6-2 6-3



Best tennis Stan has played since return from injury. Stan was untroubled on serve (faced 0 BP's) and created 8 (won 3) on Norrie's serve. Movement looked much better vs a few weeks ago.



Cilic bt Verdasco



Cilic looked in great form against a Verdasco that wasn't playing badly at all. Marin won 97%(!) of his 1st serve points (1st serve in was 66%) and faced 0 break points. Very good signs for the next 3 weeks. A title run here looks likely.



Also:

Tiafoe bt Donaldson 6-4 7-6(4)

Querrey bt Clarke 6-3 6-3

Medvedev bt Sock 7-5 6-3



HALLE:



Featured Matches:

Nishikori bt Bachinger 6-3 7-6(3)



Decent match from Kei, never really in danger despite dropping serve twice. 2nd serve return was where he did most damage at 58% of points won, which is solid on grass.



Bautista Agut bt Struff 6-4 6-1



Impressive match from RBA. Fast grass suits his flat groundstrokes and makes his, sometimes lightweight, serve more of a weapon. Won a staggering 72% of 2nd serve return points, which given Struff was only at 50% 1st serves in, didn't work out well for the German.



Thiem bt Youzhny 7-6(5) 6-2



Bit of a strange match with a 90(!) minute 1st set and lots of wily Youzhny slices. Thiem hit 19 aces which is encouraging but will need to get his 1st serve in % out of the 50's if he's going to try and challenge this week. Encouraging 2nd set from Thiem.



Also:

Kudla bt Lacko 6-4 6-4

Haase bt Sousa 4-6 7-5 6-4

Sugita bt Marterer 6-4 5-7 6-3

PLAYER NEWS/ANNOUNCEMENTS 🗣 Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic both gave interviews for the Queens media day. Here are the best bits: -- Murray: (Main Interview (Main Interview here Injury has given him perspective on how much tennis means to him after an 11 month(!) absence.

Lowest point was January, realising that surgery was the only option after months of sunk cost (rest) that turned out to be fruitless. As soon as he started rehab/training post-surgery he felt better, had forward momentum.

While he was recovering post-surgery he watched lots of tennis. Found it tough to watch, wanted to be competing. As he’s returned to training, post-surgery, has watched much less. Rehabbing for 6-8hrs some days.

Comforted by Nadal and Federer combining for last 6 slams (despite their age). Realises that their success is mostly down to them being 2 of the greatest to ever play. Delpo’s return also makes him hopeful.

Says it will take him 3–4 months of matches to start getting back to the top level.

Lack of ranking takes pressure off. Thinks his chances vs. Kyrgios are very low.

Wants daughters to be able to see him play at biggest events 😢. Djokovic: Likes tradition of no one being able to practice on centre court, at Queens or Wimbledon, pre-match. Both players going in a bit cold, conditions wise, adds an element of difficulty.

Movement is hardest factor in transition from clay -> grass.

“Very big” highs and lows over past 12 months.

6 months rest post-Wimbledon 2017 but pain came back immediately in Australia. Got ahead of himself expectations wise.

Biggest lesson learnt = to be more patient.

Even playing with a bit of pain makes a huge diference to performance in a game with small margins like tennis.

Loved time at home with family, probably needed it given how intense full tennis seasons are.

Very happy to see Andy back in a draw. "Tennis has missed him."

Murray Training:



The footage of Andy hitting doesn't look particularly encouraging (understandable after 11 months out) but his practice partner Cameron Norrie said:



“He’s playing well,” obviously he hasn’t played many matches, so there were a couple of points where he wasn’t quite on it. But he’s hitting the ball well and he’s moving great. I had match points but he ended up winning the next set and we stopped at one set all. But overall it was a great level. I played flat out."



Full practice video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmAepy1WAyw

This was Murray practicing serves on Monday afternoon. You can see he's not pushing off with full power or getting his usual, full torso rotation through contact. Could be protecting himself, could be a worrying sign of physical limitation. Time will tell. One positive was that he was moving better today than he was over the weekend. Rafa Already Training On Grass:



Using the Mallorca Open's courts. Light practices so far: This baseline is like clay, no?

Roger Checks His Ranking



"I had a bit of a double take moment this morning when I checked the rankings" Federer says he wants to enjoy the week in Halle, being #1, not knowing how long he'll get to keep it.



Source: https://twitter.com/Renestance/status/1008744746876133376



Now have an image in my head of Fed rolling out of bed, tripping over the Stuttgart trophy, spit-taking his morning coffee noticing the new Mercedes parked in his drive, and blearily checking the ATP live scores app for his ranking.



When asked what the most hectic part of his last 24 hours had been: "Possibly the final 30 minutes of the Brazil - Switzerland match".



Poor Milos 😅 SHOTS OF THE DAY 😮 Outrageous slice backhand winner from Gasquet in his title winning run yesterday. Amazing angle from Kei in todays match vs Bachinger in Halle. Casual 97mph backhand pass from Thiem...🔥 TOMORROW'S OOP ⏰ 🔥 = match to watch



Queens (12pm Start):



Centre

Dimitrov vs Dzumhur (H2H 2-0)



Prediction: Dimitrov in 2



Djokovic vs Millman 🔥 (1st meeting)



Prediction: Djokovic in 2



Kyrgios vs Murray 🔥 (H2H 0-4)



Kyrgios in 2



Edmund vs Harrison (H2H 0-1)



Edmund in 3



Ct 1

Raonic vs Bhambri (1st meeting)



Berdych vs Benneteau (H2H 4-1)



Goffin vs Lopez (H2H 3-0)



Mannarino vs Evans 🔥 (1st meeting)





Halle (12pm Start):



Stadion

Kohlschreiber vs Fucsovics (1st meeting)



Prediction: Kholi in 2



Gasquet vs F. Mayer (H2H 5-2)



Prediction: Gasquet in 3



Federer vs Bedene (H2H 1-0)



Prediction: Federer in 2



A Zverev vs Coric 🔥 (H2H 1-2)



Prediction: Zverev in 2



Ct 1

Pouille vs Tsitsipas 🔥 (1st meeting)



M Zverev vs Khachanov (H2H 2-1)



Seppi vs Berrettini (1st meeting)



Gojowczyk vs Molleker (1st meeting) EXTRAS... "Try to be on 🔥 the whole year."

Dominic Thiem talking about goals for the rest of his season, especially grass. Full interview: http://tnn.is/sgw2bb



"I'm very excited for Andy. It's great to see him back on a match court" - Roger Federer adding to the chorus of those happy to see Muzz back.



Michael Chang on why Nishikori chooses to play Halle instead of London: "It's difficult to reserve a practice court in London. "You can have practice whenever you want in Halle."



Yesterday Felix Auger-Aliassime won his 3rd Challenger Title. He's only the 4th player in Challenger history to win at least 3 titles before turning 18. Gasquet, Djokovic and Del Potro the others. Good company 🙌.

LOL 😂 Wouldn't be the start of the grass season without a few of these... Struff went on to win the point. And... this one too. Halle with an optimistic cake on Roger's arrival. (Federer is hitting 310 weeks at No.1, not 311). Federer and Nadal with the No.1 ranking.



(resusable GIF these days) THAT'S ALL FOR TODAY 👋 Thanks for reading! Beta testers get access to 'The Racquet' Discord. Tap/click the Discord button below so you can give some feedback (or just spam Dolgopolov emojis 🤷‍♂️) You can also follow me on Twitter here: If you know anyone who would like 'The Racquet' here is the link to send them so they can sign up: https://theracquet.carrd.co See you tomorrow for Queens and Halle Day 2!