Jordan Thompson and Alex de Minaur shine at Queen’s

The first round of the Queen’s Club Championship in London, England completed on Tuesday, with two Australians coming through with victories. In a marquee matchup, the seventh seed Alex de Minaur of Sydney defeated three-time grand slam champion Andy Murray of Glasgow, Scotland 6-3, 6-1. With Milos Raonic of Canada pulling out because of a shoulder injury, an all-Australian first round matchup was then created. As a result, Alexei Popyrin of Sydney, Australia got into the main draw. Popyrin lost in two tight sets to Jordan Thompson of Sydney, 6-4, 6-4.

Despite the lopsided scoreline, de Minaur only won 26 of the 47 receiving points. However, it was de Minaur who made the most of his opportunities, as he broke Murray four times on eight chances, while Murray did not break de Minaur on three chances.

In a similar circumstance, Thompson did a better job than Popyrin while returning serve in their match. Thompson broke Popyrin four times in 11 chances, while Popyrin broke Thompson twice in five chances.

In the second round, Thompson is now facing the fifth seed Cameron Norrie of Great Britain, while de Minaur is facing Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman. Thompson and Norrie, the 2022 Wimbledon semifinalist, have beaten each other twice. All four prior matches have come in the first round. Norrie won in the first round in the 2018 United States Open 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, and in the first round of Atlanta in 2019, 7-6, 4-6, 6-3. Thompson won in the first round of Miami in 2019, 4-6, 7-6, 6-3 and the first round of Kazakhstan in 2020, 5-7, 7-6, 6-2.

De Minaur should be entering his match against Schwartzman filled with confidence. In the first round he beat a player in Murray, who has won the 2012 United States Open, 2013 Wimbledon, and 2016 Wimbledon. Murray also won Queen’s five times in 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2016. De Minaur’s girlfriend, Katie Boulter of Leicester, also won the Nottingham Open on Sunday by beating fellow British player Jodie Burrage of Kingston upon Thames, England in the final, 6-3, 6-3. It was the first all-English women’s final since 1977.

Like Murray, Schwartzman has gone deep in a grand slam. He made the semifinals of the 2020 French Open. This will be the first meeting head to head between Schwartzman and de Minaur.

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