Australia’s Thompson knocks Rune out of Queen’s Club tennis

In a surprising turn of events at the Queen’s Club tournament in London, Australia’s Jordan Thompson triumphed over seventh-seed Holger Rune in the first round. Thompson, who came back from a set down, ultimately secured a 4-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 victory in a match that lasted over two hours. Rune, who had reached the semifinals in this grass-court warm-up event for Wimbledon the previous year, was unable to hold off Thompson’s determined play.

In other matches, world number 10 Grigor Dimitrov, the 2014 Queen’s champion, delivered a commanding performance against France’s Adrian Mannarino, winning 6-1, 6-2. Dimitrov expressed satisfaction with his strong start, emphasizing the importance of maintaining steady serves and returns throughout the match. He noted his increasing confidence as the game progressed, attributing his success to a solid and secure performance.

Additionally, American player Frances Tiafoe was forced to retire from his match against Australian qualifier Rinky Hijikata due to a right hip injury, allowing Hijikata to advance to the round of 16. Later in the day, former Wimbledon runner-up Milos Raonic was scheduled to play against British number two Cam Norrie. Reigning Queen’s and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz, fresh off his French Open victory, was set to begin his title defense against Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo, while British tennis legend Andy Murray was slated to face Alexei Popyrin.