Holger Rune Earns First Grass-Court Win, Andy Murray Falls At Queen’s Club | ATP

Holger Rune captured first tour-level win on grass Tuesday when he moved past Maxime Cressy 7-6(4), 7-6(3) at the Cinch Championships in London.

The Dane went 0-3 on the surface in 2022 but did not have to wait for his maiden victory on grass in 2023, clawing past the American in one hour and 58 minutes to improve to 2-1 in their ATP Head2Head series.

In windy conditions in London, the second seed rallied from 2-5 in the first set. He was forced to remain patient on return in the second set, but hit a range of winning passing shots against the incoming Cressy to set a second-round meeting against British wild card Ryan Peniston.

The 20-year-old Rune now holds a 31-11 record on the season, highlighted by his run to the title in Munich.

Andy Murray arrived at The Queen’s Club off the back of consecutive ATP Challenger Tour titles. The former World No. 1 was unable to extend his winning round in west London, though, with Alex de Minaur defeating the record five-time champion 6-3, 6-1.

The seventh seed De Mianur, who won a tour-level title on grass at Eastbourne in 2021, was far too consistent for Murray, who struggled to find any rhythm throughout the 82-minute clash. The Australian will next meet Diego Schwartzman.

Murray was aiming for a deep run at the Cinch Championships in a bid to be seeded at Wimbledon. Those hopes are over now following a disappointing defeat on home soil.

In other first-round action, Jiri Lehecka earned victory on his Queen’s Club debut, defeating Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7-6(4), 6-3. He will next met Carlos Alcaraz.

Fresh off his title run in Stuttgart, Frances Tiafoe extended his winning run when he overcame Botic van de Zandschulp 6-2, 6-4. The American is competing at a career-high No. 10 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings this week after clinching his third tour-level crown in Germany. Tiafoe will next play countryman Sebastian Korda.