Aegon Championships: Stan Wawrinka & Milos Raonic suffer upsets at Queen's
| 2017 Aegon Championships |
|---|
| Venue: Queen’s Club, London Dates: 19-25 June |
| Coverage: Comprehensive live coverage on BBC One, BBC Two, Red Button, Connected TV and online daily |
Milos Raonic and Stan Wawrinka both lost in the first round of the Aegon Championships on a day of upsets at Queen’s Club.
Australian wildcard Thanasi Kokkinakis stunned Canadian third seed Raonic, last year’s runner-up, 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (10-8).
Former finalist Feliciano Lopez of Spain then saw off Swiss second seed Wawrinka 7-6 (7-4) 7-5.
Five-time champion Andy Murray also lost to Australian Jordan Thompson.
Meanwhile, 18-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer earned his first grass-court win of the year at Halle in Germany.
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Wawrinka lost in the first round for the second year running and now has a 4-5 career record at Queen’s Club.
Kokkinakis, 21, was playing only his fifth match of 2017 after missing 18 weeks with an abdominal strain.
The Australian, who was watched from courtside by close friend Nick Kyrgios, has struggled desperately with injuries.
He reached a career-high ranking of 69 two years ago but had shoulder surgery in December 2015 and suffered a pectoral injury after returning last August, before his abdominal strain this year.
“It means everything, this match. It’s huge for me,” said Kokkinakis, who saved eight break points in the first set and three set points in the second-set tie-break.
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“I’ve been out of the game for so long. I’m trying to look forward now – it’s been brutal.
“I’m trying to get myself going week by week. I think it was 22 months out of the game but I can’t wait to play my next game.”
Asked what lesson he would take from the defeat, Raonic said: “Don’t get caught too far behind the baseline, hit the damn ball, and move forward every chance you have.”
He added: “I will go into Wimbledon with a lot of confidence, because I have prepared really well.”
Federer earns first win of grass-court season
Seven-time Wimbledon champion Federer decided to miss the entire clay-court season in order to focus on the grass, returning with a defeat by German veteran Tommy Haas in Stuttgart last week.
But the 35-year-old responded with a 6-3 6-1 win against Japan’s Yuichi Sugita in the first round at Halle on Tuesday.
The Swiss top seed needed just 51 minutes to earn his 1,100th win on the ATP Tour.
“I had never played him. And playing against me, all are always very motivated,” said Federer, who won his 18th Slam at the Australian Open in January.
“That doesn’t make it easy, but I’m very satisfied. That was a very good start.”