Queen’s Club 2024: Carlos Alcaraz handed tough opener by Cinch Championships draw

Carlos Alcaraz won Queen’s

The current champion and top seed at Queen’s Club Carlos Alcaraz will not be able to ease back into the ATP Tour.

In the aftermath of his stunning run at the French Open, the Spaniard will be a strong favourite to retain his title.

Alcaraz’s first opponent at Queens will be Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo, so he will need to be primed for the challenge.

The world No 2 could face the British No 1 in the second round provided Jack Draper can get beyond Mariano Navone.

The 2023 runner-up and No 2 seed Alex de Minaur has been in phenomenal form of late and will be among the title contenders at the Queen’s Club.

De Minaur will face Stuttgart Open semi-finalist Lorenzo Musetti in the opening round which gets underway on 17 June.

The No 3 seed is another red-hot star and Grigor Dimitrov is player to watch out for at Queens. He will face off with experienced Frenchman Adrian Mannarino to start his tilt.

Fourth seed Taylor Fritz will face a qualifier while his countryman and fifth seed Tommy Paul will take on Sebastian Baez to get things underway.

The likes of Holger Rune, Ben Shelton and Ugo Humbert are among the other seeded players and each are capable of enjoying a great run at the Cinch Championships.

Shelton will take on a qualifier to start his campaign as the No 6 seed after suffering a second round exit in last season’s championship.

Rune’s No 7 seeding hasn’t prevented him from getting a tough draw on grass against serve and volley expert Jordan Thompson.

No 8 seed Humbert gets going against Matteo Arnaldi and could face Frances Tiafoe in the second round with the American missing out on a seeding this term.

Dan Evans and Andy Murray have been given wildcards into the main draw along with compatriot Billy Harris.

Evans faces Brandon Nakashima in his first round assignment at Queen’s Club, meanwhile Murray will face a qualifier.

Murray and Evans have also entered the doubles draw as a team and they are among a number of singles stars who have paired up for this tournament.

The British pair will face fourth seeds and defending champions Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek in the first round.

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The 2024 ATP Doubles Trial also continues at the Cinch Championships with changes including less time between points, adjustments to time allowances during changeovers, the use of “time extensions” and other innovations.

“I’m excited to see the ATP continue to try to test ways to figure out things to try to improve the doubles product and unlock more value for all the different stakeholders: players, fans, tournaments, streaming, TV and broadcasters,” Tournament Director Jamie Murray said.

“We were excited to be a part of that and hopefully, it’s a positive experience for the players and fans that are coming to watch it at Queen’s this week.”