Betting preview, tips & TV details for the Fever Tree Championships at Queen's

ATP Fever Tree Championships
Amazon Prime, 11am Monday

Andy Murray makes his return to tennis following hip surgery when he partners Feliciano Lopez in doubles action at the Fever Tree Championships but, while the Brit will be the centre of attention, the singles draw at Queen’s Club provides punters with a serious betting heat.

In the absence of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, it’s 7-1 the field with Juan Martin del Potro and Stefanos Tsitsipas heading a market where bookmakers are struggling to find a favourite - former Wimbledon finalists Marin Cilic, Milos Raonic and Kevin Anderson are also quoted at single-figure odds in places.

Del Potro’s chance is obvious. However, he has never progressed further than the quarter-finals at Queen’s and can be taken on.

Of the other market leaders, Tsitsipas is short on grass experience, Anderson makes a return from injury after skipping the clay season, while Raonic withdrew from the semi-finals in Stuttgart last week due to a back problem.

That leaves Cilic. The Croat has the best Queen’s Club form of any player in the field and will be looking to defend his title this week before teeing up another tilt at a first Wimbledon crown.

In addition to winning the title last year, the 30-year-old was champion in north London in 2012 and was a runner-up to Murray in 2013 and Lopez in 2017 - for good measure, he reached the semi-finals in 2016.

While he was in poor form on clay, a return to grass should show Cilic in a better light and he has been handed a winnable opener against clay specialist Cristian Garin before a likely second-round meeting with Diego Schwartzman. If he can rediscover his confidence, he will be a danger to all.

Recommendation
M Cilic
1pt 8-1 Coral, Ladbrokes

ATP Noventi Open
Amazon Prime, 11am Monday

Roger Federer has won the Halle title on nine occasions and, even at 37, bookmakers are running scared of the tennis legend as he bids to make it ten in Germany.

The Swiss star arrives in Halle following a productive clay season and should live up to his billing back on his beloved grass. But his draw is not easy and, at the prices, he can be taken on with Karen Khachanov, who rates a decent each-way play in the opposite half of the draw.

Khachanov’s game is made for turf. He likes Halle, having reached the semi-finals in 2017 and the quarters there last year, and an early loss against Matteo Berrettini last week looks better after the Italian went on to win the MercedesCup in Stuttgart.

Recommendation
K Khachanov
1pt each-way 16-1 Betfred

WTA Nature Valley Classic

Johanna Konta is looking to build on her French Open semi-final run with a victory at the WTA Nature Valley Classic in Birmingham but the Brit has strong competition in her bid to win on the Edgbaston grass.

World number one Naomi Osaka and French Open heroine Ashleigh Barty are both in the draw but all three face tough opening rounds and none are bankers to advance.

Karolina Pliskova has a comparatively easier opener against Mihaela Buzarnescu before a meeting with a qualifier in the second round and the Czech, who was a runner-up in Birmingham in 2015, has regularly contended this season.

Recommendation
Karolina Pliskova
1pt 7-1 general

WTA Mallorca Open
BT Sport 2, 1pm Monday

Maria Sharapova returns after a five-month absence at the WTA Mallorca Open but the Russian, who has struggled with form and fitness since her return from a doping ban two years ago, will do well to make significant progress in a high-quality draw.

Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber is the number one seed in the Balearic event and is joined in the top half of the draw by Sharapova, Victoria Azarenka, Carolina Garcia, Belinda Bencic, Den Bosch champion Alison Riske and French Open semi-finalist Amanda Anisimova among others.

The bottom half looks easier and seventh seed Sofia Kenin, who beat Serena Williams and took a set off Barty at Roland Garros, can build on a run to the semi-finals in Mallorca last year.

Recommendation
S Kenin
1pt each-way 14-1 bet365

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