Andy Murray is not overreacting to a first-round exit Tuesday at the Cinch Championships. The 36-year-old is instead considering how well he has competed the past month, in which he has claimed two ATP Challenger Tour titles on grass.

The former World No. 1 was unable to extend his winning run in west London, with Alex de Minaur ousting the record five-time Queen’s Club champion 6-3, 6-1. Despite the defeat, Murray is choosing to draw on the positives.

“Obviously after today, it’s easy to overreact. I lost to a good player and it was obviously very comfortable,” Murray said in his post-match press conference. “But at the same time, over the past couple of weeks, yes, it’s obviously not the same level of opponents, but I won the [Nottingham Challenger] last week without dropping a set.

“I only lost one set in Surbiton. Was holding serve very comfortably. Was moving well, hitting the ball well. There are a lot of positive signs there.”

World No. 38 Murray will next head to the All England Club, where he will be celebrating the 10th anniversary since his first Wimbledon. Murray also triumphed at the season’s third major in 2016. The 46-time tour-level titlist will enjoy some downtime before playing his home Slam.

“Just recharge a little bit, and then go to work on my game,” Murray said. “I don’t want to overanalyse. Today [there are] definitely some things I can do better, but at the same time, I have done lots of good things over the last couple of weeks as well. I want to keep going in that direction.

“Keep serving well, keep working on my movement. That was something we spent a lot of time working on before Surbiton and Nottingham, and it’s really crucial for me that I’m moving well. So [I will] definitely spend a lot of time working on that.”

Murray arrived at the Queen’s Club with a chance to be seeded at Wimbledon, depending on his results at the ATP 500 event. The Scot was asked if that thought was in his mind while in action against De Minaur. Murray stated he has known about his seeding chances for several weeks and the possibility did not affect his play Tuesday.

“I knew I was pretty much either going to have to make a final here if I didn’t do well in Surbiton and Nottingham, or if I won both of those events, it was looking like at least a quarter-final to do it,” Murray said. “I was aware of that before all of the matches that I played the past few weeks.”

Alexander Zverev delivered a rock-solid performance Tuesday to down Dominic Thiem at the Terra Wortmann Open. It was both men’s first grass-court match since 2021.

The home favourite Zverev prevailed 6-3, 6-4 at Halle’s OWL Arena to advance to a second-round clash against Denis Shapovalov. Zverev kept Thiem under pressure throughout with a sublime serving performance during which he saved the only break point he faced, with the 26-year-old finishing having won 85 per cent (29/34) of points behind his first delivery.

“I’m happy to get the win,” said Zverev. “Obviously grass is a difficult surface to get a rhythm on. It was a typical grass match, in a way, one break in each set. All-in-all I’m happy to be through and hopefully will have some more matches here.

“I was moving well. I was not hitting the ball as well as I wanted to, but it’s very difficult, the first time on grass in two years.”

With his 79-minute triumph, Zverev improved to 4-8 in his ATP Head2Head series with Thiem. The World No. 22 now holds a 13-6 record in Halle, where he reached the final in 2016 (l. to Mayer) and 2017 (l. to Federer).

“I think [the crowd] will help me a lot tomorrow, but he’s an excellent grass-court player,” said Zverev, when asked about his second-round opponent Shapovalov. “He’s been to the semi-finals of Wimbledon, so it’s one of his favourite surfaces I think. I’m looking forward to that match because I think it’s going to be a real challenge.”

Defending champion Hubert Hurkacz also advanced to the second round after holding off an inspired comeback by qualifer Christopher Eubanks.

Eubanks saved four match points in the second-set tie-break before forcing a decider in his maiden ATP Head2Head meeting with Hurkacz. An early break in the third set was enough for Hurkacz to claim a two-hour, three-minute victory, however, as the sixth seed prevailed 6-4, 6-7(11), 6-3 to move to a 6-2 career record in Halle.

The defending champ is through to R2 in Halle! 👏@HubertHurkacz fights past Eubanks 6-4 6-7(11) 6-3.@ATPHalle | #TerraWortmannOpen pic.twitter.com/9VTS9aJcXF

— ATP Tour (@atptour) June 20, 2023

Hurkacz’s second-round opponent will be Tallon Griekspoor, who defeated Roberto Carballes Baena 6-2, 7-5. It was a sixth consecutive tour-level victory for Griekspoor, who lifted his maiden ATP Tour title on grass in ‘s-Hertogenbosch last week.

Carlos Alcaraz survived a major scare on Tuesday to earn victory on his Cinch Championships debut. The Spaniard rallied from a set down to move past French lucky loser Arthur Rinderknech 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(3) at the ATP 500.

Competing in his third tour-level grass-court event and first outside of Wimbledon, the top seed took time to adjust to the conditions. After dropping the first set, Alcaraz improved his movement on the slick London lawns. He used the drop shot effectively in the second set to level, before battling from a break down in the decider to advance after two hours and 34 minutes.

“It was really difficult for me at the beginning to adapt my tennis, my game to the grass,” Alcaraz said. “For me it is tough playing here but of course I enjoyed playing on the grass and playing at Queen’s. It is a tournament that I really wanted to play. It was a good performance from me on my first match on grass.

“I have never played a tournament except Wimbledon on grass and I wanted to play here. I have watched this tournament on TV and I always thought it looked like a beautiful place to play and be. I am enjoying every single second. The crowd was amazing and the court was unbelievable.”

The 20-year-old, who was playing for the first time since his Roland Garros semi-final defeat against Novak Djokovic, will next meet Jiri Lehecka after the Czech downed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7-6(4), 6-3.

Alcaraz is chasing his fifth tour-level title of the season this week. If he lifts his maiden trophy on grass, he will return to No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

Rinderknech caused Alcaraz problems throughout the thrilling clash in west London, repeatedly closing the net to pressure the top seed in their second ATP Head2Head meeting. The Spaniard found his best level when it mattered, though, scampering down a series of drop volleys in the third-set tie-break to improve to 36-4 on the season.

Alcaraz has captured 10 tour-level titles in his career and risen to No. 1. However, the 20-year-old has limited experience on grass, with his match against Rinderknech just his seventh on the surface. Last year the Spaniard missed Queen’s due to injury before he advanced to the fourth round at Wimbledon.

“I could not play tennis on grass at home but I could practise the movement on grass when at home. I came here a few days before to play here and practise a bit. I felt really good,” Alcaraz said.

In a year of firsts, Ben Shelton ticked off another milestone Monday when he made his tour-level grass-court debut at the Cinch Championships.

After hitting on the surface for the first time just last week, the American earned his maiden win on grass when he defeated J.J. Wolf in straight sets in London.

“I only had my first session on a grass court last Tuesday,” Shelton told ATPTour.com. “There are definitely some big differences to clay. I think that the hardest part to figure out on grass is the movement. Once you get that down, it’s a lot easier to play on the surface. I think that between the movement and the ball staying a bit lower, those are two things that I just had to adjust to.

“But my first match was a lot of fun. I think the grass really helps my serve. It makes it move more and it makes it faster. I’m also willing and able to come forward and make plays at the net. I think that’s another thing that gets rewarded on a grass court. I think this is a surface that I could really do some damage on.”

The American has enjoyed a breakthrough first season on Tour, reaching the quarter-finals at the Australian Open before he competed on clay for the first time in April.

The 20-year claimed two tour-level wins on the surface and he reached the quarter-finals at an ATP Challenger Tour tournament in Cagliari. Ready to tackle a new surface again, Shelton is hoping to use the learning experience he gained on clay on grass.

“It’s two completely different surfaces, but it’s definitely a similar learning process,” Shelton said. “I know things that I did or didn’t do the last time around, so this time hopefully I make changes and don’t make the same mistake twice. I think that being able to go through that process once on clay courts will definitely help me for these four weeks on the grass.”

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One source of knowledge Shelton will be looking to utilise is his father, former World No. 55 Bryan Shelton, who this week has joined Ben’s team on a full-time basis. Bryan, who was the head men’s tennis coach at the University of Florida, lifted two tour-level titles on grass (Newport 1991-92) and advanced to the fourth round at Wimbledon in 1994.

“This is our first official tournament together full time. He really helps with my confidence in the way that he talks to me on the court and the way that he explains things,” Ben said.

“He is a great resource and I know a great tennis mind. He won two ATP titles on grass and made the Round of 16 at Wimbledon. To be able to have that resource, that tennis mind in my corner, kind of helping me as I go, it’s been really important and helped me a lot.”

Shelton showed early promise on grass during his first-round win at the ATP 500 event, winning 72 per cent (13/18) of net points. He revealed his father has already provided guidance, with a focus on his movement.

“He has told me a few general things, just kind of helping me find my footing and my movement,” Shelton said. “Things that you want to do or not do. To really move through the ball and not try to stop and slide, which is something that I do a lot on the clay courts and the hard courts.

“That was a big learning bit for me. Learning to take little extra steps after shots instead of sliding out of them. Also using my serve effectively and making it move in different ways because the grass really grabs the ball and makes it go.”

Twelve months ago, Shelton was No. 435 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. This week he competes at The Queen’s Club at a career-high No. 35. The American had never been outside of the United States prior to his trip to Australia at the start of the year, but has already gained a good amount of experience on Tour, with Queen’s his 15th tour-level event of the season.

“I’ve had a lot of fun. Definitely after Roland Garros it was really mixed. I was missing home and I was glad to be able to get back and spend some time in Florida. I’m really enjoying it, though,” Shelton said. “I’m enjoying all the new experiences and I love to compete. So every time that I get to play at a tournament and work my way through a draw or learn things as I go, I really enjoy it.

“I think it’s really important to find the places that you like to play, then you can make adjustments to your schedule as you go. I think that me playing a lot is going to help me in the long run and I’m really enjoying being able to experience all these different tournaments.”

Shelton will next play Lorenzo Musetti, who competed at the Next Gen ATP Finals in 2021 and 2022. The 20-year-old Shelton has aspirations of making his debut at the 21-and-under event at the end of the season. The American is currently fifth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Next Gen Race.

“I think it would be an event that’d be really cool to play and we’ll see where we’re at by the end of the year,” Shelton said. “I think that that could be a tournament and one that would be really cool to be a part of.”

Shelton’s focus will remain on grass for now, where he will also compete at the ATP 250 event in Mallorca before making his Wimbledon debut.