Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter marked the return of women’s tennis to Queen’s Club by sealing a convincing doubles victory.
Britain’s No 1 and 2 ranked women brushed aside the challenge of China’s Xinyu Jiang and Taiwan’s Fang-Hsien Wu to win 6-4 6-2 in the opening round of the HSBC Championships.
Boulter and Raducanu will both also feature in the singles competition, with the iconic London grass court venue hosting a women’s tournament for the first time since 1973.
The pair could face fellow Brits Sonay Kartal and Jodie Burrage in the next round, with the other home pairing set to face top seeds Lyudmyla Kichenok and Erin Routliffe on Tuesday.
“I was actually very nervous before the match,” said 2021 US Open champion Raducanu. “I don’t know if you could tell, but, yeah, probably more nervous than the singles, because I just didn’t necessarily know what to do.
“I’m really happy once we got out there, Katie made me feel so comfortable, and I’m just so pleased to get a win.”
This Queen’s partnership, Raducanu revealed, came “spontaneously”, after a few close calls where she and Boulter nearly joined forces at Madrid, Paris and Miami.
Asked it could extend as far as Wimbledon, Raducanu replied: “We haven’t spoken about it. It worked pretty well, so we’re just going to keep on trying to do as best we can this week.”
Boulter joked: “Scrap what she said – we’re going for the Wimbledon title! No, I’m just kidding.”
Boulter will begin her singles campaign against Australian Ajla Tomljanovic, while Raducanu faces Spain’s Cristina Bucsa.
Elsewhere on Monday, Britain’s Jacob Fearnley was beaten in straight sets by American Brandon Nakashima in the first round of the Boss Open in Stuttgart
Andy Murray Arena officially inaugurated
Earlier on Monday, centre court at Queen’s Club was officially inaugurated as the Andy Murray Arena.
Retired three-time grand slam winner Murray, a long-time champion of the women’s game, won the men’s singles title five times at Queen’s, most recently in 2016.
Centre court at Queen’s Club has been renamed the Andy Murray arena, with the British great in attendance for a ceremony
“My tennis is diabolical, apologies for what you are about to witness,” said the 38-year-old before pairing up with Gloria, 10, for the ceremonial two-round rally against Laura Robson, who won an Olympic silver medal alongside Murray in 2012, and Jay, 7.
The 38-year-old announced before last summer’s Olympic Games in Paris he would bid farewell at Roland Garros and, after opting to withdraw from the singles competition – a title he had won in 2012 and 2016 – Murray bowed out with a 6-2 6-4 defeat alongside Dan Evans.
“I’ve obviously missed being out here,” he said. “It’s the first time, obviously, not being involved in a grass court season for a while, but I’ve got a new life now and I’m enjoying being away from the sport a little bit.”
The Scotsman revealed he has a special connection to this event – he was coached as a 12 and 13-year-old by Russian Olga Morozova, the last women’s singles winner here in 1973.
“I think it’s brilliant,” said Murray, when asked about the return of women’s tennis to Queen’s. “This court has had many great matches on it. I think it’s a great chance for women to showcase themselves out there.”
The former world No 1 first competed in the main draw at Queen’s as an 18-year-old and for the last time last season before retiring in Paris. He also claimed the doubles trophy in 2019 alongside Feliciano Lopez.
Murray added: “This tournament has so many special moments for me. It’s the place where I won my first match on the ATP Tour, it’s my most successful event.
“Coming back here at the start of the British summer and I’m very proud of the results I have here.
“I’m very grateful and thankful for whoever it was who decided to name the stadium this way. I hope there’s lots of great matches and you all enjoy the tennis.”
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