Day 1 at the ATP 500 event in Queen’s will feature plenty of exciting action, including a former champion in Grigor Dimitrov, a former Queen’s and Wimbledon finalist in Milos Raonic, and home hero Cameron Norrie. As is the case in most years, this tournament features an absolutely stacked field with the world’s top players gearing up for Wimbledon in a couple of weeks.
ATP Queen’s Club Day 1 Predictions
Rinky Hijikata vs Frances Tiafoe
Head-to-head: Tiafoe 1-0 Hijikata
Tiafoe has never had a good run at Wimbledon but he did win a grass title last year in Stuttgart, proving that he can play on this surface even if it’s not where he feels the most comfortable. Overall, he’s clearly a much higher level than Hijikata despite his recent struggles and he should be able to advance here.
Prediction: Tiafoe in 2
Holger Rune vs Jordan Thompson
Head-to-head: first meeting
Thompson is generally a very solid player on grass and he could definitely trouble Rune, but he comes into this tournament on a very bad five match losing streak, including a straight sets defeat to Raonic last week in the Netherlands. Rune played well at Roland Garros and showed last year that he’s comfortable playing on grass. He should be able to pull through a tight match here.
Prediction: Rune in 3
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Alejandro Tabilo vs Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
Head-to-head: first meeting
Tabilo is having an amazing season and might well make the Top 20 soon, but grass is unlikely to be a happy hunting ground for him. On this surface, Dadidovich Fokina should have a bit of an edge in this matchup; while it’s not his favorite surface either, he showed last year at Wimbledon that he can play quite well on it.
Prediction: Davidovich Fokina in 2
Grigor Dimitrov vs Adrian Mannarino
Head-to-head: Dimitrov 5-0 Mannarino
Dimitrov is having an incredible late career resurgence and on paper grass should be his best chance to have success at Grand Slam level so there’s a lot of expectations regarding what he can do at Wimbledon. At Queen’s, he’s a former champion all the way back in 2014, 10 years ago, and one of the favorites to win this year’s edition too. With that said, and despite the lopsided head-to-head, Mannarino is a very good grass player who could cause Dimitrov some issues in this opening match.
Prediction: Dimitrov in 3
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Milos Raonic vs Cameron Norrie
Head-to-head: Raonic 2-0 Norrie
Raonic has barely played on Tour in recent years, with injuries systematically destroying his career, but he is always a threat, especially on grass with his incredible serve. Last week he had a nice run in Stuttgart, only losing to eventual champion De Minaur. Norrie isn’t close to the level he showed a couple of years ago and is all the way down to #39 in the rankings. If Raonic can replicate the level he showed last week, he can definitely get the win here.
Prediction: Raonic in 3
Main Photo Credit: Peter van den Berg-USA TODAY Sports