Queen's Club Championships 2021: Men's singles draw analysis, preview & prediction
After a fortnight of high-octane tennis action in Paris, the ATP tour moves to London this week. Leading the field of top names at the Queen's Club Championships, an ATP 250 event scheduled to be played from 14-20 June, are former champions Andy Murray and Marin Cilic.
Also crowding the field in London are top seed Matteo Berrettini, Canada's Denis Shapovalop, teenage sensation Jannik Sinner and late bloomer Aslan Karatsev. With main draw action set to begin on Monday, here is a look at the prospects of the top names in the fray.
Top half: Andy Murray and Dan Evans lead British charge against the seeds
Top-seeded players: [1] Matteo Berrittini, [4] Alex de Minaur, [6] Dan Evans and [8] Fabio Fognini
Expected semifinal: Matteo Berretini vs Alex de Minaur
Dark horse: Marin Cilic
Analysis: Top seed Matteo Berrettini opens his campaign against compatriot Stefano Travaglia, which should be a relatively straightforward match. But Berrettini could face some resistance from a couple of British players in the subsequent rounds.
Looming in the second round is five-time former champion Andy Murray. The former World No. 1 will be keen to make a winning return, but would definitely be wary of his first-round opponent - the mercurial Frenchman Benoit Paire.
The winner of this section is likely to clash with sixth seed Dan Evans, who has a relatively simpler path to the quarterfinals.
Alex de Minaur, meanwhile, will look to finally get his season going with some quality wins in the grasscourt swing. But he will need to find his stride quickly if he wishes to get past the big-serving Reilly Opelka in the second round.
Another former champion in the form of Marin Cilic will look to cause an upset or two in his section. If the Croat can get past eighth seed Fabio Fognini early on, he will fancy his chances of another deep run here.
Predicted semifinal: Matteo Berrettini def. Reilly Opelka
Bottom half: A slew of in-form players look to topple Denis Shapovalov and Jannik Sinner
Top-seeded players: [2] Denis Shapovalov, [3] Jannik Sinner, [5] Aslan Karatsev and [7] Lorenzo Sonego
Expected semifinal: Denis Shapovalov vs Jannik Sinner
Dark horse: Alexander Bublik
Analysis: Third seed Jannik Sinner is on a collision course with 2021's breakthrough player Aslan Karatsev in this section. However, both men will need to be at their best to avoid suffering an upset loss early on.
While Britain's Cameron Norrie could cause a few problems for Karatsev, Sinner could face the winner of an exciting first-round encounter between Jeremy Chardy and Alexander Bublik. Bublik, in particular, has a game that is tailor-made for grass, and his prospective match against Sinner could be a blockbuster.
Denis Shapovalov made an early exit in his first grasscourt event - Stuttgart - losing a tight two-set match against Cilic. The young Canadian will be looking to get back to winning ways with a better performance in London.
Shapovalov will need to be wary of the likes of Feliciano Lopez, Frances Tiafoe and Lorenzo Sonego in his section, but he does have an easy opener (against a qualifier). If he can use that match to fine-tune his game, he should be able to come through rather unscathed.
Predicted semifinal: Aslan Karatsev def. Denis Shapovalov
Prediction for final
Matteo Berrettini def. Aslan Karatsev
Notable first-round encounters
Benoit Paire vs Andy Murray
Dan Evans vs Alexei Popyrin
Cameron Norrie vs Albert Ramos-Vinolas
Alexander Bublik vs Jeremy Chardy