Defending champion Andy Murray and Ross Hutchins visited The Queen’s Club for the launch of the Aegon Championships this week, and are already excited about the event, which starts in less than two months.
Posing for photographs with Hutchins on the court where he triumphed last year and with the trophy he lifted for a third time, Murray couldn’t wait to get started in his quest for a fourth title. Only John McEnroe, Boris Becker, Lleyton Hewitt and Andy Roddick have achieved that mark before.
“The grass court season is just around the corner and standing here on the courts, they’re such great courts, they look so good, I feel like I could get ready right now to start playing! said Murray”. “I love this event, the time of year, because I get to stay at home, I get such great support and so many of my friends and family are able to come and watch.”
Last year, Murray was unable to play at the French Open because of a back injury, which he ultimately had surgery on in September. As disappointed as he was, he acknowledged that it helped his run to the Aegon Championships and Wimbledon titles.
“I’d been practising on the grass courts at Queen’s for a week or nine days before the tournament started last year.” Murray said. “I was still very nervous but I was ready because I hadn’t played Roland Garros. Physically now I feel better than last year because I was in pain with my back most days last year before the surgery, but I also came in fairly fresh because I hadn’t played loads of tennis. This year I should come in match-tight, but last year was the freshest I had ever been.”
At the time of writing, he is looking for a new coach, having ended his successful two-year alliance with Ivan Lendl last month, and hopes to have the new person by his side at The Queen’s Club in June.
“I hope I can get a new coach before the French Open,” said Murray. “But it’s not always simple to find someone. When a football team is looking for the perfect manager, the manager doesn’t always want to do it. You have to think hard about who you want, and then hope they are prepared to travel for thirty weeks a year.”
For Hutchins, who has been working alongside the event’s new managing director Stephen Farrow in taking on the responsibilities of Chris Kermode, who has taken over as the new Executive Chairman and President of the ATP, the excitement and workload are both building. They have already assembled a field which includes Murray, World No.5 Tomas Berdych, and the exciting Alex Dolgopolov, who has beaten 3 of the world’s top 4 players this year. Many more players will be announced in the coming weeks.
“The Queen’s Club and the Aegon Championships sell themselves - the players don’t need me to convince them to come,” said Hutchins. “The tournament was voted ATP 250 event of the year in 2013, it’s played at this beautiful venue, and everyone involved with it knows what a fantastic event it is. For me it has been a very enjoyable couple of months, and now we are here, a few weeks away, with the team, with Andy visiting to launch the tournament, it feels very real, very exciting. We are continually brainstorming ideas to try to make the event the best that it can possibly be.”
Hutchins will continue his playing career as normal outside of the Aegon Championships.
“I am very excited about the future, both as a player throughout the rest of the year and in this new role behind the scenes at Queen’s,” he said. “I am still very motivated and ambitious about my partnership with Colin Fleming on the court, we still have a lot to achieve, and the only week I won’t play is during the Aegon Championships. There is a lot of down-time for a tennis player though, so I have plenty of time to work on the event throughout the year, and with the great team at Queen’s, led by managing director Stephen Farrow, we are in great shape to organise a fantastic tournament.”