Jordan Thompson shocks off-colour Murray

London: Andy Murray admits he will have to improve dramatically to mount a successful defence of his Wimbledon title after the world number one suffered an embarrassing Queen’s Club exit.

Murray crashed to one of the worst defeats of his glittering career on Tuesday as Australian world number 90 Jordan Thompson ended his reign as Queen’s champion with an astonishing 7-6 (4), 6-2 first round victory.

Making the 30-year-old’s humiliation even worse, Thompson, originally beaten in the qualifying rounds, was only playing as a last minute replacement for the injured Aljaz Bedene.

“I said before the tournament there was still a lot of work to be done, and after the French Open I knew that I was still quite far from where I needed to be,” Murray said.

“One tournament doesn’t change all of what had gone on just beforehand. So that’s why I got back on the practice court quite soon after the French.”

It is a remarkable crisis for a player who just eight months ago was sitting on top of the world after a golden year that including titles at Wimbledon, the Olympics and the ATP Tour Finals.

“I don’t feel like loads of my game has changed, but obviously right now I’m not playing as well as I was 12 months ago,” he said.

“If I play like that, I certainly won’t win Wimbledon, but I can play better than that.” Murray’s exit overshadowed his generous offer to donate in tournament prize money to the victims of the London tower-block fire that killed an estimated 79 people.

Meanwhile, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was also dumped out by Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller 6-4, 6-4.

Muguruza survives scare
Birmingham: Former Wimbledon finalist Garbine Muguruza suffered a scare before taking the first early steps that may help her forget her ordeal in losing her French Open title 10 days ago.

The sixth seeded Spaniard was at times in serious difficulties during her survival by 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 against Elizaveta Kulichkova, a Russian qualifier, in the first round of the Aegon Classic.

She next plays Alison Riske, the world number 45 from the United States who is at her best on grass, and has previously reached the semi-final of this tournament.
Earlier Kvitova, the two-time Wimbledon champion, made a winning comeback to her beloved grass with a 6-2, 6-3 2 win over her fellow Czech Tereza Smitkova.

Azarenka returns with battling win

Madrid: Former world number one Victoria Azarenka saved three match points on Wednesday to overcome Japan’s Risa Ozaki in Mallorca on her comeback from a year out following the birth of her son.

The Belarusian, a two-time Australian Open champion in 2012 and 2013, was one game from defeat against Ozaki in her first-round tie when play was suspended due to bad light on Tuesday.

Azarenka rallied from 0-40 down as Ozaki served for the match to claw through 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7) in two hours and 44 minutes in her first appearance since the 2016 French Open.