Norrie loses to Davidovich Fokina at Queen's

Cameron Norrie was beaten by Alejandro Davidovich Fokina at Queen's in the Briton's first singles match since suffering a rib injury in May. Norrie, who has often been the last Briton standing at Grand Slams, had to retire injured from his first-round French Open match last month due to the same issue.

He returned to the court in the men's doubles at Queen's on Monday, partnering with Australian Alex de Minaur, but they lost 6-4, 7-5 to India's Yuki Bhambri and New Zealand's Michael Venus.

On Tuesday, Norrie started strongly against world number 22 Davidovich Fokina but ultimately faded, losing 7-6 (8-6), 6-2. Norrie initially broke ahead, but Davidovich Fokina quickly responded and maintained his form through a competitive tie-break. Despite struggling at times, appearing on the floor several times as he dived and slid around the court, Davidovich Fokina broke Norrie’s serve twice en route to closing out the victory.

Norrie is among five Britons to have direct entry into the Wimbledon main draw when the tournament begins on Monday, 29 June. Earlier in the day, Arthur Fery won an all-British battle in emphatic style, defeating Toby Samuel 6-0, 6-2. Fery expressed satisfaction with how he handled the match against a good friend, with both having reached the junior doubles semi-finals at Wimbledon in 2019 and receiving wildcards for the Wimbledon main draw on Tuesday.

In other matches, third seed and French Open semi-finalist Jakub Mensik suffered a surprising defeat, losing to veteran Frenchman Adrian Mannarino with scores of 5-7, 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-5). In Halle, French Open champion Alexander Zverev overcame a second-set wobble in his first match since his Paris triumph, winning against Czech player Vit Kopriva 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 to reach the second round. Defending champion Alexander Bublik was shocked in his match, losing 7-6 (8-6), 6-1 to Italy's Mattia Bellucci, while Andrey Rublev was defeated 6-3, 6-2 by Poland's Hubert Hurkacz.