Repeat or refresh? Will Matteo Berrettini, Andy Murray and Daniil Medvedev impress at Queen’s and Halle?

Wimbledon is coming.

The third Grand Slam of the year gets under way on June 27 and there are just two weeks left of grass-court preparations for players. The standout ATP Tour warm-up events are at Queen’s and Halle this week as most of the world’s best, including new world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev, look to fine-tune their games.

But will those who impressed at the Stuttgart Open and at the Libema Open last week repeat their strong showings? Or will new faces make their cases ahead of Wimbledon?

Matteo Berrettini (Queen’s)

What a return for Berrettini.

He now has a 28-6 record on the surface and it’s hard to ignore his chances at Queen’s where he won last year for the loss of just one set. After making the final of Wimbledon in 2021, the Italian is shaping up to be Novak Djokovic’s biggest contender at SW19 again.

Verdict: Repeat

Andy Murray (Queen’s)

“It’s a really long time since I have played nine matches in 14 days,” said Murray afterwards.

“I also played Thursday through Saturday last week and then Thursday through to Sunday here. So it is probably normal that I would feel some stuff in my body but I don’t really know the severity of it. I’ll need to get it checked out. Hopefully it is all right.”

Murray is set to play Lorenzo Sonego in the first round at Queen’s on Tuesday before a second-round clash against either Berrettini or fellow Brit Dan Evans. There’s incentive for Murray as a good run could see him gain enough ranking points to be seeded for Wimbledon, but the injury issue and the draw makes it a tough ask.

Verdict: Another deep run would be a surprise

Daniil Medvedev (Halle)

A few years ago Medvedev could almost be written off as a contender if not playing on hard courts. Not so much these days.

It will be intriguing to see how Medvedev fares if he comes up against a skilled grass player like Van Rijthoven.

Verdict: Should have a good week

Stefanos Tsitsipas (Halle)

Tsitsipas has won a tour-leading 35 matches this year, but still seems a notch below the top-level consistency of Djokovic and Medvedev. In his second match since losing in the fourth round of the French Open to Holger Rune he was dumped out of the Stuttgart Open in straight sets by Murray.

His career record on grass is 9-9 and he has yet to record any big results on the surface. He is optimistic that he can improve though.

“My game is built for grass courts, I can 100% have good results on this surface,” he said in Stuttgart. “But it might take a bit of time. I want to get the most out of my game and push it to the limit.”

Having dropped to No. 6 in the world rankings, a good week would be a nice boost for Tsitsipas ahead of Wimbledon.

Verdict: Needs a strong tournament

Nick Kyrgios (Halle)

Is there anyone who can slot back so quickly onto tour as Kyrgios?

Kyrgios has shown at times this year that he still has the talent to challenge the best in the world on his day. On grass he could be even more of a factor as his game and style is so well suited to the surface.

“Nick has the potential to be one of the best players in the world, there’s absolutely no question about that,” said Murray after their semi-final.

Could this be the summer that it clicks for Kyrgios? He could face a juicy second-round match against Tsitsipas in Halle.

Verdict: A definite contender on grass

Casper Ruud (Queen’s)

Ruud and clay: a strong match.

Ruud and grass: not a good match (so far).

“I think grass is for golf players,” was Ruud’s tongue-in-cheek verdict on the surface earlier this year.

Ruud’s discomfort on grass is reflected in his 2-4 record on the surface, and the fact he has not yet won a main-draw match at Wimbledon in two attempts. But as the new world No. 5 and top seed at Queen’s, he will be hopeful of showing some improvement this week.

He has already proven this year that as well as clay he can also win on hard courts, making the final of the Miami Open, and his 30-10 win-loss record is one of the best on tour. He has also sought to clear up his thoughts on grass recently.

“Don’t take this quote too seriously,” he said on Twitter regarding his “grass is for golf” quote. “It was a silly joke during one of my press conferences in Miami. Grass is a fun challenge and right now I’m honestly quite tired of running and grinding five meters behind the baseline on clay!”

Ruud makes his first appearance on grass this year against British wild card Ryan Peniston in the first round at Queen’s.

Verdict: Could be vulnerable

Marin Cilic (Queen’s)

A two-time champion at Queen’s, Cilic is one to watch over the grass season.

The 2014 US Open winner finished the clay swing on a high as he made the semi-finals of the French Open, producing one of the best performances of his career to thrash Daniil Medvedev in the last 16.

He has the game to go big on grass and should certainly be a factor at Queen’s, and most likely at Wimbledon, where he has made the quarter-finals three times and also the final in 2017.

Cilic starts his grass swing against Liam Broady at Queen’s.

Verdict: One to watch