Andy Murray admits his Wimbledon chances suffered a heavy blow with defeat to lucky loser Jordan Thompson in the first round of the Aegon Championships on Tuesday.
But Murray is adamant he still can turn his stuttering form around at the All England Club, where his bid to win a fourth grand slam title begins in less than a fortnight’s time.
Thompson, ranked 90th in the world, was only entered into the main draw at Queen’s when Aljaz Bedene withdrew injured, but the Australian played the match of his life to win 7-6 (4), 6-2.
The defeat is Murray’s ninth already in 2017 and sixth against a player rated outside the top 20. It is the Scot’s second worst result by ranking since March 2012.
More concerning for Murray is not only the continuation of his poor form but the fact he has lost potentially a week’s worth of competitive matches on grass, with Wimbledon fast approaching
It is perhaps no coincidence that both his Wimbledon triumphs in 2013 and 2016 came after he also won the title at Queen’s.
“It’s a big blow, for sure,” Murray said. “Obviously this tournament has given me great preparation in the past and when I have done well here, Wimbledon has tended to go pretty well, too. It’s not ideal obviously but guys have in the past also gone in to Wimbledon having not won lots of matches.
“Novak (Djokovic) a number of times hasn’t played any warm-up tournaments and played very well there. It has happened in the past where guys haven’t done well and they’ve gone on to do well at Wimbledon.
“There is no guarantees that I won’t do well at Wimbledon but it certainly would have helped to have had more matches.”
Murray can, however, draw encouragement from his last first-round exit at Queen’s in 2012, when he went on to reach the Wimbledon final, while Djokovic has regularly warmed up for SW19 by attending only exhibition matches the week before.
The British No1 said he might yet explore the option of exhibition events next week but insists there is no reason to panic.
“I do think that a lot can change in a short period of time. Everything was a lot better in practice. Today’s match was not good but I was much better in practice,” Murray said. “If I play like that, I certainly won’t win Wimbledon but I can play better than that.”
Thompson will face American Sam Querrey in round two.
Milestone win: For Jordan Thompson.
Thompson had never won a Tour-level grass-court match before and the world No90 wasn’t even in the tournament when he woke up on Tuesday morning.
But 24 hours later Thompson was the talk of the tennis world after an astonishing victory over Murray.
The 23-year-old thought his chance of playing a first Tour-level tournament this year had gone when he was beaten by Chardy in the second round of Queen’s qualifying on Sunday.
But Thompson remained at the west London venue as an alternate in case any players pulled out and his patience was rewarded when Bedene, Murray’s scheduled opponent, withdrew with a wrist injury just hours before the match.
“I signed in for the Lucky Loser spot. There weren’t too many matches yesterday, but I hung around. If someone was going to pull out, I was always going to be there,” he said.
“Then this morning, I just got my transport, planning on doing the same thing, signing in, waiting around. Pretty much when I got here, someone pulled out. When I heard I was playing Andy, I was pretty nervous. I just wanted to go out there and enjoy it.
“I just did everything as usual. I warmed up, had some food, and got ready to go out there.”
Thompson seized his unexpected chance with an incredibly mature display, hitting 12 aces and saving all three break points against Murray, who had won 10 consecutive matches and the last two titles at Queen’s.
Thompson is the first player to stop Murray breaking serve in a match since Roger Federer in 2015 and, after spending his career trying to eke out a living on the unglamourous second tier Challenger circuit, it was hardly surprising he rated the win as the best of his career.
“I was pretty pumped. Beating the world No1 and a Grand Slam champion, on grass at Queen’s, it’s definitely number one for me,” he said. “I had a good serving day today. It’s a grass court so it’s quick. I hit a fair few aces and got a fair few serve winners and unreturnables. It was a good day at the office. He made a couple of loose errors he usually wouldn’t make.”
Sydney-born Thompson has never won a Tour level title, while Murray has amassed 45, including three Grand Slams.
Murray had been virtually untouchable at Queen’s, winning the tournament a record five times, with three of those triumphs coming in the last four years.
But while Murray was playing his first match on grass this year, Thompson reached the final of the Surbiton Challenger tournament on the surface last week and his smooth serve and volley game was a stark contrast to the Scot’s hesitant performance.
It was Murray’s second worst result by ranking since March 2012 and Thompson said: “I played really well. Gave myself every opportunity in the rallies and didn’t make too many errors.”
Next up for Thompson is big-serving American Sam Querrey, who won Queen’s in 2010.
Eyeing a place in the quarter-finals of a tournament now without top three seeds Murray, Stan Wawrinka (lost to Feliciano Lopez) and Milos Raonic (lost to Thanasi Kokkinakis), Thompson isn’t finished yet.
“It’s all about backing up. That’s why Andy’s the world No1. He always has consistent results,” he said. “That’s what I’ve got to try and do is have consistent results.”
* From Press Association and AFP
