Queen’s Club R1 previews and predictions: Kyrgios vs. Murray, Goffin vs. Lopez

Andy Murray will finally be back in action when he takes the court in front of the home crowd at Queen’s Club on Tuesday. Murray has a blockbuster first-rounder on his hands against Nick Kyrgios, while David Goffin is facing Feliciano Lopez.

Nick Kyrgios vs. Andy Murray

Murray will be playing for the first time since Wimbledon last summer when he competes in the Fever-Tree Championships opening round on Tuesday afternoon. The former world No. 1 has been out for almost a full year with a hip injury, forcing him down to No. 156 in the world with points remaining only from a 2017 quarterfinal performance at Wimbledon. Murray has no points to defend at Queen’s Club because he lost right away to Jordan Thompson last season, but the 31-year-old Scot is still 30-6 lifetime at this tournament with five titles.

Up first for Murray is a sixth career contest against Kyrgios, who is getting swept 5-0 in the head-to-head series. The 23-year-old Australian is a hopeless 1-14 in total sets and he has completed the career Grand Slam of losses to Murray–one each at the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open. They most recently clashed at the All-England Club in 2016, when Murray cruised 7-5, 6-1, 6-4. Obviously, though, circumstances have changed heading into this one. Whereas the two-time Wimbledon champion has been away from the tour, Kyrgios is 13-5 in 2018 and coming off a solid comeback of his own in Stuttgart (advanced to the semis, fell to eventual champion Roger Federer in a third-set tiebreaker). This will likely be too tough of a test for Murray in his first match in almost 12 months.

Pick: Kyrgios in 2

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(4) David Goffin vs. Feliciano Lopez

Goffin and Lopez will be going head-to-head for the fourth time in their careers when they clash during first-round action on Tuesday. All three of their previous encounters have gone the way of Goffin, who is 6-0 in total sets at Lopez’s expense and has never even been pushed to a tiebreaker. They most recently faced each other earlier this season on the indoor hard courts of Rotterdam, where the Belgian prevailed 6-1, 6-3.

Although Goffin has been snake-bitten by injuries at various times over the past two seasons, he still registers inside the top 10 at ninth in the rankings. The 27-year-old is a modest 19-9 for his 2018 campaign, but he won multiple matches in all but one of his recent clay-court events. Lopez is going relatively strong at 37 years old, with a ranking of No. 36 and a likely seed at Wimbledon. The Spaniard kicked off his grass-court swing by reaching the Stuttgart quarters, beating Viktor Troicki and Gilles Simon before bowing out against Kyrgios. Grass gives Lopez a chance in this one, but it is a terrible matchup for him regardless of the surface. Goffin’s defense is better than Lopez’s offense at this point and the No. 4 seed loves having a target when his opponents choose to rush the net.

Pick: Goffin in 2

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