Queen's Club 2024: Andy Murray vs Alexei Popyrin preview, head-to-head, prediction, and pick | Cinch Championships
Match Details
Fixture: Andy Murray vs (Q) Alexei Popyrin
Date: Tuesday, June 18
Round: First Round (Round of 32)
Tournament: 2024 Cinch Championships
Venue: The Queen's Club, London, United Kingdom
Category: ATP 500
Surface: Grass
Prize Money: €2,411,390
Live Telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Tennis Channel & BBC TV | Canada - TSN+
Andy Murray vs Alexei Popyrin preview
Home favorite Andy Murray is set to open his Queen's campaign against Australian qualifier Alexei Popyrin in the first round on Tuesday, June 18.
Murray has featured sporadically on tour this season and holds a 5-11 match record so far. He kicked off the year losing his opening four matches and picked up his first win in Qatar over Alexandre Muller. He reached the third round in Miami, beating the likes of Matteo Berrettini and Tomas Martin Etcheverry before going down to Tomas Machac in a three-set epic.
Murray barely featured during the clay court swing after suffering a terrible ankle injury in Miami. He played in Geneva and the French Open but was sent packing in the first round on both occasions. He played his first match on the grass in Stuttgart last week but went down quite easily to Marcus Giron in the opening round.
Popyrin, meanwhile, has had an indifferent start to the year. He is 10-10 on the W/L charts this season, with his best result coming in Qatar where he reached the last four. He severely underperformed during the clay court swing, managing to win just two out of seven matches played.
Popyrin kicked off his grass-court swing at the Surbiton challenger, playing doubles alongside Mark Lajal. Together the pair reached the semifinals where they were ousted by third seed Julian Cash and Robert Galloway. He took part in the singles competition in 's-Hertogenbosch last week but went down to second seed Tommy Paul in the second round despite winning the first set.
Andy Murray vs Alexei Popyrin head-to-head
Andy Murray and Alexei Popyrin are yet to face off in professional competition and so their head-to-head currently stands at 0-0.
Andy Murray vs Alexei Popyrin odds
(Odds sourced from BetMGM)
Andy Murray vs Alexei Popyrin prediction
Fans can expect a thrilling encounter between Andy Murray and Alexei Popyrin in the first round of the 2024 Cinch Championships, with both players evenly stacked up so far this year.
Age and fitness look to have finally caught up with Murray who's faced plenty of time on the sidelines this year. While he has offered glimpses of his old self on occasions, his game has been marred by inconsistency and rusty play. He's not been moving as well as before either and has seen that hamper his gameplay severely.
Popyrin, on the other hand, has once again failed to live up to the billing for another season running. He kicked off the season well but saw a serious dip in form during the clay court swing. He's shown some promise on the grass so far and will be hoping to keep the good momentum going forward.
Popyrin will be the favorite to make it through this contest. Unlike Murray, he's already featured on the grass this season and looks raring to go. Murray, meanwhile, hasn't played since the French Open and will take a little bit of time to find his feet. It could ultimately all boil down to who takes the greater risk and plays the bigger points better.
Pick: Popyrin in three sets.