With tickets set to go on general sale tomorrow at 10:00am, Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas have confirmed that they will vie with Feliciano Lopez for the Spaniard’s Fever-Tree Championships title at The Queen’s Club, 15-21 June.
Andy Murray, who has a career-long commitment to play in the tournament and won doubles with Lopez last year, also hopes to be fit in time to compete for a record sixth singles title.
Medvedev reached the US Open final as part of a stunning run of form last summer, narrowly missing out in a five-set epic to Rafael Nadal at Flushing Meadows.
Tsitsipas won the Nitto ATP Finals at London’s O2 Arena at the end of 2019, and has established himself, along with Medvedev, as a fixture inside the world’s Top 10. Last week he won the ATP title in Marseille.
To win the title at Queen’s, they will have to find a way to keep Lopez at bay. The 38-year-old stunned even himself by winning the singles title for a second time last year, and then backed it up with doubles glory only a couple of hours later.
For Murray, the Fever-Tree Championships has been the most successful tournament of a glittering career that began with a first ATP match victory back at The Queen’s Club in 2005, and led to singles titles in 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2016. He made an extraordinary comeback from hip surgery at the tournament last year, winning the doubles with Lopez and the singles title in Antwerp in October, but then suffered a pelvic injury that has so far prevented him from playing in 2020.
“We are thrilled to be have received early commitments to play in the Fever-Tree Championships from two Top 10 players in Daniil and Stefanos, and such legendary figures at The Queen’s Club in Feliciano and Andy,” said Tournament Director Stephen Farrow, who is also the LTA’s Director of International Events and Professional Game. “Daniil and Stefanos have shown that they can beat anyone in the world, Feliciano’s win last year was incredibly emotional and uplifting, and Andy is our greatest champion. We know Andy is still working his way back to fitness, but we also know that he wants to play, so fingers crossed that he will be able to.”
Medvedev, Tsitsipas and Lopez are equally excited.
Medvedev said: “The last 6 months have been incredible for me, a real breakthrough, and now I want to try to do the same on grass. The Fever-Tree Championships at The Queen’s Club is a great event with perfect grass courts, and I am looking forward to playing there ahead of Wimbledon.”
Tsitsipas said: “London will always be a special place for me after winning the ATP Finals last year and I am looking forward to coming back in June. The crowd at the O2 touched my heart in a very special way and I am excited to play at Queens again this June. It is a big tournament and important to play in the lead up to Wimbledon.”
Lopez said: “I thought when I won the title in 2017 that it was the best moment of my career. I was wrong. It was last year! Winning singles and doubles was something incredible, more than I could ever have dreamed when Stephen (Farrow) gave me the wild card. That final day is one that I will never forget, Queen’s is always going to be one of the most special places of my career, and I am already looking forward to coming back to the Fever-Tree Championships in June to defend my title.”
The Fever-Tree Championships has been shortlisted for Event of the Year at the Sporty Industry Awards. The tournament’s Roll of Honour includes Rod Laver, John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Boris Becker, Pete Sampras, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray.
The 2020 edition of the Fever-Tree Championships will take place 15th-21st June, broadcast live throughout by the BBC and Amazon Prime Video in the UK.
Tickets will go on sale tomorrow morning at 10:00am at www.fevertreechampionships.com
