Feliciano Lopez has denied any link to alleged match-fixing in 2017, the day before he is due to partner Britain’s Andy Murray in the doubles at Queen’s.

Lopez’s defeat in the men’s doubles alongside fellow Spaniard Marc Lopez at Wimbledon in 2017 is under scrutiny, according to Spanish media.

Feliciano Lopez, 37, will play alongside Murray in the Briton’s comeback at Queen’s on Thursday.

“I don’t want this thing to overshadow the match,” Lopez said.

“I absolutely deny any link with events described in relation to the allegations of match-fixing.”

Feliciano Lopez said he was shocked to hear the allegations reported by digital newspaper El Confidencial, adding he only found out about them “on the internet”.

In the match in question, 11th seeds Lopez and Lopez, who are unrelated and won the 2016 French Open title together, lost in four sets to unseeded Australian pair Matt Reid and John-Patrick Smith in the first round at the All England Club.

Earlier in the tournament, former world number 12 Feliciano Lopez had retired from his singles match against France’s Adrian Mannarino with a foot injury.

After beating Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics in the Queen’s singles on Wednesday, world number 113 Feliciano Lopez read a prepared statement to the media from his phone.

“Unfortunately, all tennis players are public figures and are used to having our good name used beyond our control,” he said.

“For that reason, I will do everything within my power to defend myself against any such false accusations.”

He added: “I was playing against Mannarino and I injured my foot, and I had to retire from that match.

“Then we tried to play doubles. We tried to do our best and we ended up losing the match. That’s all.”

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Third seed Juan Martin del Potro opened his Queen’s campaign with a clinical 7-5 6-4 victory over Canada’s world number 25 Denis Shapovalov.

The 30-year-old, whose season has been interrupted by a knee injury, rarely looked like surrendering his serve.

Shapovalov, 20, has lost in the first round of his past three events and struggled with his ball toss at times.

British number one Kyle Edmund and compatriot Dan Evans are in action later on Wednesday.

Edmund plays top-seeded Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, while three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka is Evans’ opponent.

Andy Murray’s return to competitive action after five months out and surgery on a career-threatening hip injury has been pushed back until Thursday after Tuesday’s rain delays.

He will play alongside Spain’s Feliciano Lopez in the doubles.

Former British number one Andy Murray is set to take another step in his comeback from hip surgery by playing with Brazilian Marcelo Melo at Eastbourne next week.

Murray will make his competitive return alongside Spain’s Feliciano Lopez in the doubles at Queen’s this week.

Their match has been pushed back to Thursday after rain washed out play in London on Tuesday.

The 32-year-old Scot had a hip resurfacing operation in January.

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The three-time Grand Slam singles champion has linked up with 37-year-old Lopez in a short-term arrangement at Queen’s, playing again just five months after being seemingly resigned to retirement because of the “constant pain” in his hip.

Now he will play with 35-year-old Melo on the south coast, while it has not been confirmed who Murray is set to partner if he plays at Wimbledon next month.

Former world number one doubles player Melo is a two-time Grand Slam men’s doubles champion, having won the 2015 French Open and 2017 Wimbledon titles, and is currently fourth in the doubles rankings.

Murray, whose last match was a five-set defeat by Roberto Bautista Agut in the opening round of the Australian Open in January, has said he still has “quite a lot of work to do” before he can play in singles again.

No player has ever resumed a singles career after a hip resurfacing operation, although American doubles player Bob Bryan returned five months after the surgery in 2018.

The Nature Valley International starts in Eastbourne on Monday, with live coverage across the BBC on television, radio and online.

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When the Wimbledon wildcards are announced on Wednesday there may well be an unfamiliar name among them – Paul Jubb.

Last month, the 19-year-old raised a few eyebrows in the tennis world when he became the first Briton to land the US colleges’ prestigious NCAA men’s singles title, previously won by Grand Slam winners Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe and Bob Bryan.

That victory should have guaranteed him a wildcard for September’s US Open, but he will be denied the privilege because he is not American.

The York-born player, who moved to Hull to live with his grandmother at the age of three, began playing tennis at primary school before he stepped up his commitment to the sport while attending Malet Lambert school.

After winning the under-16s national title, he decided to take the opportunity of further developing his skills in the American college system.

He is not the only Briton to follow that route, with British number two Cameron Norrie also coming through the US system and recommending more players consider it.

“Lawn Tennis Association coach James Trotman [who has worked with British number one Kyle Edmund] played a big part and mentioned my name to a few people, including my current coach Josh Goffi,” Jubb told BBC’s Look North.

“Josh, while he was recruiting in London, came up to Hull to watch me train. The ball got rolling and a few months later I was at the University of South Carolina, where, aside from playing tennis, I’m also studying retail management.”

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Jubb only lost two matches during the college season before overcoming previously unbeaten Nuno Borges of Mississippi State in the NCAA final in Florida, in May.

“It was a huge confidence booster,” he added. “Hopefully, it’s a step in the right direction for a long future.”

Jubb is back in his homeland at the moment. He took part in his first ATP Challenger match this month, taking a set off compatriot and world number 204 James Ward before eventually losing.

“My expectations weren’t high,” he said of his defeat at the Surbiton Trophy.

“I felt like I was right there with him and I took a lot of confidence from the match.”

Jubb says he is hoping to get more experience on the professional tour and will remain in London during the grass-court season – a convenient location if Wimbledon comes calling.