Editor Adam Addicott presents the first in a series of daily reports live from the Aegon Championships at the Queen’s Club.
It might only be the first day of main draw action at Queen’s, but organizers can already seek solace in their attendance figures. Embarking upon the entrance to the ATP 500 event, I was greeted with queues lasting seemingly forever. Incredibly, it wasn’t just one queue, but numerous ones going in different directions. A picture perfect advertisement for the event, which has been elected ATP 500 tournament of the year twice in a row (2015 and 2016). Not so perfect for a journalist looking for a quick way in.
The public waiting to enter the grounds were in for a pleasant surprise with the venue being spruced up with more corporate areas and a bigger stadium. Once again, there was an elegant feel to the event and a sense of elitism. An image British tennis has been trying to quash to make the sport appeal to a broader range of people.
On the court players basked in the heat, but it didn’t mean that they were free from tumbling on the surface. Nick Kyrgios was the biggest casualty on the turf, when a fall triggered his troublesome hip injury. Inevitably, he retired from his match, making it his third consecutive first round loss at the tournament.
“It just was a sharp pain when I fell. I started feeling it when I was walking, when I was landing on my serve. It’s exactly what I was feeling in Paris. I mean, it’s tough to play through.” Kyrgios said about his injury.
Kyrgios was not alone as others glided around the court during their matches. Although those were less significant than Kyrgios’. The grass appears to be a love or hate surface for players on the tour. On Monday the mood was certainly love.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has a luxurious way of preparing for the tournament, by practising on his own private grass-court at home. His enthusiasm for the grass is hard to question, but his memory is another issue. Today he left the tournament, forgetting to conduct his press conference. Instead, it was a conference call in what was both a funny and bizarre situation.
“The most important thing is to take pleasure on the court, and when I’m like this, I’m able to do some good things. Yeah, really happy to be here in London, to play on grass.” Tsonga explained after his straight sets win over Adrian Mannarino.
Grigor Dimitrov’s love for the green stuff is something that resembles an excited child at Christmas. On the opening day he cruised past Donald Young, dropping just four games. The grass is where Dimitrov reached his first grand slam semifinals at the 2014 Wimbledon Championships. That same year he also won Queen’s.
“Every tournament you play on grass, I just want to win it. The grass court season is pretty short, so you just need to make sure that you get the most out of it.”
One person aiming to get the most out of the grass will be Aljaz Bedene, who faces top seed Andy Murray on Tuesday. He will face the prospect of slipping on the surface like his competitors today. Not that this actually bothers him in the slightest.
“Grass is grass. You can’t always make it dry.” Bedene said following practice. “I do remember I fell once while running for it. I mean, last year I played on a wet surface on Court No. 1, but, you know, grass is a different surface and we just have to accept it.”
Shapovalov shines
It is ironic that the most memorable win of the day was by the youngest player participating. Denis Shapovalov lived up to his reputation as a rapidly rising star with a marathon 131-minute triumph over local favourite Kyle Edmund. Playing aggressively, the triumph has awarded the Canadian only his second ATP Tour win and first in a 500-category tournament.
“It’s a great benefit to my game, but I think it’s also, at the same time, sometimes a curse, because when it goes away it’s a little bit tough to find other ways to win.” The 18-year-old said about his aggressive game play.
Asked about his current game on the grass, Shapovalov’s love for the surface is growing. An unsurprising revelation from the current Wimbledon boys’ champion.
“I have been playing just as great as I did last year, even better. So I think it’s a — I think it’s a surface I really enjoy.” He explained.
Shapovalov belongs to the ‘Next Generation’ contingent. A group of players under the age of 21 that has the ability to be the future stars of the game. His feelings for the grass is similar to that of Tsonga and Dimitrov. Proving the point that the grass season is a special time of year for many players of all ages.
