Andy Murray is optimistic he will be fit for Wimbledon as the two-time champion races against time to overcome an abdominal injury. 

The 35-year-old British veteran has been a long-time home-crowd favourite at the London grand slam and reached the third round last year. 

Injuries have marred Murray's recent seasons, and he has defied most expectations by remaining on tour, recently climbing back into the world's top 50 for the first time in four years. 

The Scot slipped back to 51st this week after missing the Queen's Club Championships due to his injury setback. 

He said: "The injury is healing but still not perfect. My goal is to get to the start line in a good place physically and give myself the best chance to do well." 

Murray, quoted widely by UK media on Monday, said: "There have been positives and negatives this week. Positives are I've been able to practise, but there are certain shots I've not able to practise." 

Recently reunited with coach Ivan Lendl, who guided him to Wimbledon glory in 2013 and 2016, plus the US Open title in 2012, Murray believes he can recover full fitness in time for the championships, which start next Monday. 

"I've been practising for the past three or four days and have been practising well," he said. "But unfortunately in matches you can't just not hit certain shots. In the next couple of days hopefully I will get the chance to test that, and hopefully it will be fine." 

The former world number one produced a strong early result in the grass-court season, reaching the Stuttgart Open final before falling to Matteo Berrettini. 

Murray experienced discomfort during that showpiece match in Germany, twice requiring medical timeouts as he battled the pain against the Italian. 

Ilya Ivashka earned a meeting with Stefanos Tsitsipas at the Mallorca Championships, while Alex de Minaur got his Eastbourne International defence up and running with a straight-sets win on Monday.

A comfortable 6-4 6-1 victory over Emil Ruusuvuori sent Ivashka into the second round, where world number six Tsitsipas awaits after receiving a bye.

Mallorca third seed Denis Shapovalov will face Benjamin Bonzi who benefited as Alejandro Tabilo retired while trailing 6-3 4-2 to the Frenchman.

Roberto Bautista Agut overcame Taro Daniel 6-4 7-6 (7-4) to advance, while Antoine Bellier defeated Federico Delbonis 6-3 7-6 (8-6) and Feliciano Lopez fell to a 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-3) loss to Tallon Griekspoor.

De Minaur took an hour and 23 minutes to get past Cristian Garin 6-3 6-3 for a strong start in his bid to retain the trophy in Eastbourne.

The Australian will either face compatriot James Duckworth or Lorenzo Sonego, who he defeated in the final last year, in round two.

Fifth seed Reilly Opelka fell to a 6-3 6-1 defeat against tournament debutant Maxime Cressy, while Alexander Bublik was three points away from losing to Frances Tiafoe before rallying back to win 5-7 7-6 (7-4) 6-0.

Bublik will face John Millman next after the Australian overcame Sebastian Korda 6-3 7-6 (7-5), while top seed Cameron Norrie awaits Brandon Nakashima and Diego Schwartzman is next in line for Jack Draper.

Korda withdrew from Wimbledon after the defeat to Millman, the 21-year-old American saying on Twitter he was suffering with "terrible shin splints and beaten up feet" and needed a rest.

Hubert Hurkacz revelled in defeating the "the best player in the world" after downing Daniil Medvedev in straight sets to lift the Halle Open title.

Medvedev replaced Novak Djokovic as the world number one last Monday, just a day after the Russian fell to a surprise final defeat against Tim van Rijthoven at the Rosmalen Grass Court Championships.

The 26-year-old followed that up with another final appearance in Halle, where he was convincingly beaten 6-1 6-4 by world number 12 Hurkacz.

That made Hurkacz the seventh male player in the Open Era to win his first five career finals, while Medvedev has lost all three showpieces he has contested in 2022.

The US Open success in September was the last trophy Medvedev lifted, but Hurkacz lavished praise on his opponent after the match on Sunday.

"Daniil is an unbelievable player," said Hurkacz. "He's the best player in the world, so it's very tricky to play him.

"All the right shots went my way at the beginning, so I definitely gained a lot of momentum from that. 

"I'm super excited. I've been waiting a little for my first [title] this year. I'm happy to win my first ATP 500 title and of course, on the grass it is very special.

"I was serving pretty good today and got a bit of momentum from the first game.

"I saved a couple of deuces on my service game, and then I managed to break Daniil’s serve so I definitely got a bit of momentum. I'm very happy with the win in front of such a great crowd here."

Medvedev boasted a 14-2 record on grass since a first-round exit at Halle last year before meeting Hurkacz, who came in for praise from the world number one.

"Congrats Hubert, great match today, great week. Congrats to you and your team," he said at the post-match ceremony.

"You guys are super nice. Hopefully a lot more matches to play on the biggest stage. Congrats for a great week and the title."

Medvedev was frustrated throughout the match, repeatedly shouting at coach Gilles Cervara, who stormed out of his seat early in the second set.

While he did not address the topic after the final, Medvedev apologised to the crowd for "not making this match longer and more interesting" and acknowledged he was "not easy to be with on the court" this week.

Daniil Medvedev lost a second final in two weeks as he fell to a straight-sets defeat to Hubert Hurkacz at the Halle Open on Sunday.

The world number one struggled to get going and repeatedly took his anger out on coach Gilles Cervara, who stormed out of his seat early in the second set.

Top seed Medvedev had already lost the first set 6-1 by that point and only fared slightly better in the second, which ended 6-4 in Hurkacz's favour.

Hurkacz has now won five ATP Tour titles, with this his first on grass, while Medvedev remains stuck on 13 having lost all three finals he has competed in this season.

The most recent of those losses came at the hands of world number 106 Tim van Rijthoven last week, but Medvedev had not dropped a set en route to Sunday's clash in Halle.

Indeed, Medvedev was 14-2 on grass since a first-round exit at Halle last year, yet Hurkacz broke the Russian's first two service games and eased into a 5-0 lead.

Having successfully served out the opener, Hurkacz – who beat the same opponent in this year's Miami Masters – again broke Medvedev in the first game of the second set.

Medvedev took aim at his coach at that point, with Cervara then spotted leaving the stands and failing to return for the remaining nine games, which went the way of the serve.

After easily navigating his way past Medvedev in a match lasting just over an hour, fifth seed Hurkacz becomes the seventh male player in the Open Era to win his first five career finals.

Matteo Berrettini ramped up his Wimbledon preparations by securing his seventh ATP Tour title and fourth on grass as he won again at the Queen's Club Championships.

The Italian returned from injury in emphatic fashion at the Stuttgart Open, defeating Andy Murray in the final, before heading to Queen's ahead of the start of the third major of the year.

Berrettini had little trouble negotiating his way through to Sunday's showpiece, dropping just one set throughout the tournament to set up a meeting with Filip Krajinovic.

And despite having to battle in the first set, Berrettini triumphed 7-5 6-4 to retain the title he won last year.

The 26-year-old had an early break cancelled out by Krajinovic but got a crucial second break to take the first set.

A tentative opening followed in the second set, yet Berrettini's patience paid off when he broke in the fifth game and he was able to serve out the victory.

That signified Berrettini's ninth straight win, all on grass, after a three-month injury lay-off.

Berrettini is the first player in the Open Era to win titles in each of his first two appearances at Queen's, and is the eighth repeat champion at the tournament – the other seven players to have achieved that feat are all former world number ones.

"I arrived to Stuttgart, and I wasn't feeling great, I wasn't hitting the ball the way I want it that way I used to do, and I was like 'guys I think it's going be tough' and then it went pretty well," he said after the win," Berrettini said.

"I mean I guess I'm Italian, I'm always complaining!"

Berrettini has also advanced to the final in all four of his past grass-court events, with his only defeat coming against Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon last year.

The world number 10 will now look to go one better this time around at The All England Club.

Zizou Bergs earned a wildcard for Wimbledon and a grand slam main draw debut by beating Jack Sock in the Ilkley Trophy final on Sunday.

Named after Zinedine Zidane – the France, Juventus and Real Madrid football great who goes by the nickname 'Zizou' – Belgian Bergs has established his sporting career in tennis.

Bergs, 23, is ranked a lowly 207th by the ATP and had to come through qualifying to play in the Ilkley event, a Challenger Tour tournament in Yorkshire.

Former world number eight Sock stood in his way in the final, but Bergs secured a 7-6 (9-7) 2-6 7-6 (8-6) victory over the American.

His father Koen Bergs wrote on Twitter: "Yesssssss. The tournament director announced during the ceremony the official reward of the WC for @Wimbledon main draw. History is made."

His triumphant son added on Instagram: "WIMBLEDON MAIN DRAW WILDCARD!! Whuuuutttt"

Bergs completes the list of men's singles wildcards, featuring alongside five British players plus Dutchman Tim van Rijthoven and Swiss three-time grand slam winner Stan Wawrinka.

Wimbledon begins on June 27 at the All England Club in south-west London.

Daniil Medvedev set up a Halle Open final meeting with Hubert Hurkacz, overcoming home favourite Oscar Otte to reach his second grass-court final in as many weeks.

The world number one was forced to save a set point in a tight opener before rallying in a tie-break and sailing through the second set in a 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 win. 

Despite falling to a shock defeat to Tim van Rijthoven in 's-Hertogenbosch last week, Medvedev is now 14-2 on grass since a first-round exit at Halle last year, and was delighted to make up for 2021's performance on one of his favoured surfaces. 

"I didn't play well in Halle last year, so I'm happy that this year I managed to raise my level," he said after the win.

"As I've always said, I love playing on grass, so I'm happy to show to myself that I'm capable of being in the final of one of the greatest tournaments, especially on grass, and of course I'm looking forward to tomorrow."

Standing between Medvedev and the second grass-court title of his career is Hurkacz, who required two tie-breaks to edge a thrilling contest with Nick Kyrgios, winning 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (7-4).

Elsewhere, last year's Wimbledon runner-up Matteo Berrettini remains on course for back-to-back titles at the Queen's Club Championships after a straight-sets win over Botic van de Zandschulp in the final four.

Berrettini overcame a rain stoppage to secure his eighth consecutive victory, securing a 6-4 6-3 win, and delighted after triumphing in challenging conditions.

"It was a really tough match. We stopped for the rain. I had a lot of chances. It was windy again and really tough to play, but I definitely think it was the best match of the week, so I am really happy and looking forward to the final," the Italian said. 

Berrettini will face world number 48 Filip Krajinovic in Sunday's final, after the Serb cruised past 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic 6-3 6-3.

Daniil Medvedev ended his wait for a first win over Roberto Bautista Agut at the Halle Open as his impressive start to the grass-court season continued.

The world number one, who reached the final at 's-Hertogenbosch last week only to suffer a shock defeat to Tim van Rijthoven, had not beaten Bautista Agut in three previous matches.

But his duck against the Spaniard is over following a 6-2 6-4 win, which set up a semi-final meeting with Oscar Otte after the German saw off Karen Khachanov in three sets.

"I remember all the matches we had… He was playing some [great] tennis and it was tough for me to win," Medvedev said of his previous meetings with Bautista Agut. 

"Today I had my plan, managed to keep it going. Definitely got more edge on the most important points, because he had more break points than me. It was not easy, and I'm happy to win."

Hubert Hurkacz, a Wimbledon semi-finalist last year, is also into the last four after edging Felix Auger-Aliassime in two tie-breaks and will face Nick Kyrgios, who beat Paulo Carreno Busta in straight sets.

Elsewhere, Matteo Berrettini was victorious at the Stuttgart Open and is on course to go back-to-back at the Queen's Club Championships after seeing off Tommy Paul 6-4 6-2 to progress to the semi-finals.

Botic van de Zandschlup is his next opponent, the Dutchman overcoming Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-2 6-4.

Meanwhile, Filip Krajinovic had to come from a set down to end Briton Ryan Peniston's run at the quarter-final stage, with his reward a meeting with former US Open champion Marin Cilic, a straight-sets victor over Emil Ruusuvori.

Rafael Nadal has confirmed he is planning to play at Wimbledon after proving his fitness during a week of training on grass in Mallorca.

The 22-time grand slam winner made his announcement in a news conference on Friday.

Nadal, 36, has won the Australian Open and French Open titles already this year and is halfway towards a possible sweep of the grand slams, a feat that was last achieved in men's singles by Australian Rod Laver in 1969.

Spaniard Nadal triumphed at Roland Garros despite needing pain-killing injections before every match, as he continues to battle a foot problem that has plagued him for much of his career.

Nadal said in Paris that he intended to undergo radiofrequency injections in a bid to ensure he could compete at the All England Club, and he has undergone two courses of such treatment.

Wimbledon starts on June 27, and it is a tournament that Nadal won in 2008 and 2010, although he has not played there since 2019, when he reached the semi-finals.

Speaking in Mallorca on Friday, Nadal said: "I have managed to reduce the pain. I am happy to have been a week without going lame.

"They have been somewhat different pains. We have to wait to see how it evolves in the next few weeks. My intention is to play Wimbledon.

"Two radiofrequency sessions have been done and the evolution has been satisfactory. I don't know what might happen in five days. For now, the treatment has allowed me to train and that has made me make the decision to fly to London."

Nadal has labelled the idea of a calendar grand slam sweep as "crazy", although Novak Djokovic came tantalisingly close last year, winning the Australian and French Opens and Wimbledon before losing to Daniil Medvedev in the US Open final.

He is optimistic the London courts could prove helpful to his prospects, if he can carry over his clay form to the grass.

"I don't think the grass hurts my foot more than other surfaces. From my point of view, the grass is softer than other surfaces," Nadal said.

"The only thing I can say is the week I have been practising here after my treatment has been positive, I have experienced some improvements, different feelings, in my foot and I take that as a positive thing.

"My goal or my intention is to travel to London next Monday, play two matches there before the tournament starts and follow my normal schedule to prepare the best possible way for Wimbledon.

"Today that's all I can say. What can happen in a couple of days, if the situation changes or becomes more negative, then that will be the moment to explain another thing. Today I am positive.

"I am excited to travel to Wimbledon to try to play Wimbledon after three years."

World number one Daniil Medvedev is through to the quarter-finals of the Halle Open after beating Ilya Ivashka in a routine straight-sets win.   Medvedev only played and defeated the Belarusian six days ago at the Rosmalen Grass Court Championships, and triumphed again as he came through in Germany 7-6 (7-4) 6-3.   After saving three set points to stay in the opening set, Medvedev sealed it on a tie-break, before easing through in the second.   "He is a great player," Medvedev said of Ivashka after the win. "He had a lot of bad luck with injuries at the beginning of the season. At the end of last season he was playing really great tennis.   "I've known him since I was very young, we actually played in Futures, Challengers, and on the ATP Tour. He beat me once in the Davis Cup, which is a really important tournament. So he knows how to play tennis, he knows how to play well on grass, so I'm really happy that two times in a row I managed to pass a tough test."   He will now play seventh seed Roberto Bautista Agut in the last eight after the Spaniard beat Tallon Griekspoor 6-7 (6-8) 6-4 6-2.   Eighth seed Karen Khachanov is also through after defeating Serbian Laslo Djere 7-6 (7-4) 6-4, and will face Oscar Otte after the German overcame Nikoloz Basilashvili 4-6 6-0 7-6 (7-3).

At the Queen's Club Championships, second seed Matteo Berrettini came from a set down to finally see off Denis Kudla, winning 3-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-4.

Defending champion Berrettini was troubled by the world number 82, and was just a tie-break away from suffering an upset, but the Italian came through as he belted down 22 aces in the match.

Berrettini faces Tommy Paul in the quarter-finals after the American beat Stanislas Wawrinka in straight sets, 6-4 6-1.

Ryan Peniston carried on from knocking out number one seed Casper Ruud by beating Francisco Cerundolo 6-0 4-6 6-4, setting up a last eight clash with Filip Krajinovic after he came from behind to defeat Sam Querrey 4-6 6-3 6-4.

Rafael Nadal was stepping up preparation for Wimbledon by training on Mallorca's best grass courts on Thursday, an apparently positive sign that he intends to play in London.

The Australian Open and French Open champion said after his Roland Garros triumph at the start of June that he would only appear at Wimbledon if he could compete without needing anaesthetic injections in a troublesome foot.

The 36-year-old said he was given a couple of injections before every match and announced he would undergo radio frequency injections in a bid to feature at the third grand slam of the year.

Nadal is halfway towards a potential sweep of the four majors, defying the foot trouble by producing results that few saw coming. Rod Laver in 1969 was the last man to win all four singles majors in a calendar year.

Spaniard Nadal was pictured by organisers of the Mallorca Championships on Thursday, during a practice session on one of the tournament's plush courts.

Nadal, who hails from the island, is reluctant to undergo major surgery to prolong his career.

Wimbledon starts on June 27, and it is a tournament that Nadal has won twice, in 2008 and 2010.

He leads the all-time list of men's grand slam singles title winners, with 22 to his name now, two more than Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic have managed.

That is still one fewer than Serena Williams has managed during her stellar career, and the 40-year-old American rolled in to London on Thursday for another tilt at Wimbledon.

Due to injury, Williams has not competed on the WTA Tour since last year's championships at the All England Club.

She has received a wildcard into Wimbledon, where she has been a champion seven times, most recently in 2016.

Williams posted a video on Instagram of her arriving in London with daughter Olympia.

She intends to compete in doubles at Eastbourne, partnering Ons Jabeur, in the week leading up to Wimbledon.

Serena Williams' return to Wimbledon represents a "great example" to other players, according to Nick Kyrgios, who said tennis fans should not take her or other fellow greats Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, for granted.

Comparing the quartet to four-time NBA MVP LeBron James, Kyrgios says sports fans should enjoy the legends' "amazing" exploits while they still can.

It was confirmed on Tuesday that Williams – who has not played competitively since losing to Aliaksandra Sasnovich at Wimbledon last year – has been handed a singles wildcard to compete at the year's tournament, which begins later this month. 

Williams, now aged 40 and ranked 1,208th in the world, has won seven singles titles at Wimbledon, the last of which came in 2016, and 23 grand slams in total.

A spirited fightback from Nick Kyrgios saw the Australian beat second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Halle Open on Wednesday.

Kyrgios suffered a disappointing semi-final defeat to Andy Murray in Stuttgart last week, but looked greatly improved against Tsitsipas as he recovered from a set down to win 5-7 6-2 6-4.

It was the second serve of both men where Kyrgios shone, winning 76 per cent (28 of 37) of points on his second serve, and 58 per cent (23 of 40) on his opponent's.

"Stef is one of the best players in the world at the moment and he's going to have some amazing results and I'm sure many, many grand slams," Kyrgios said following his win.

"I don't know if I can say the same for me, but I'm happy to still be able to produce this level with the tournaments I play. It is a testament to how hard I do work when I'm not playing."

He will face Pablo Carreno Busta in the quarter-finals after the Spanish sixth seed beat Sebastian Korda 6-4 0-6 6-3.

Elsewhere, Hubert Hurkacz will face Felix Auger-Aliassime in the last eight after defeating Ugo Humbert 7-6 (7-5) 6-3, while the Canadian also won in straight sets against Mackenzie McDonald 7-6 (9-7) 6-1.

The one remaining first round match saw number one seed Daniil Medvedev beat David Goffin 6-3 6-2 to set up a second round clash with Ilya Ivashka.

At the Queen's Club Championships, sixth seed Denis Shapovalov was eliminated by Tommy Paul 6-4 2-6 6-4, with the American now scheduled to face Stanislas Wawrinka in the second round.

It means that six of the eight seeds in west London were knocked out in the first round, with Matteo Berrettini and Marin Cilic the only remaining seeds. The latter sealed his place in the quarter-finals on Wednesday with a 7-6 (8-6) 7-5 win over Alexander Bublik.

Cilic will play Finland's Emil Ruusuvuori in the last eight after he beat home favourite Jack Draper 6-2 7-6 (7-2).

The best contest of the day came between Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Alex de Minaur, with the former coming from behind to win 4-6 6-4 7-5 to set up a quarter-final with Botic van de Zandschulp, who beat Grigor Dimitrov 7-6 (7-5) 6-3.

Top seed Casper Ruud suffered a shock first-round exit at the Queen's Club Championships, going down in straight sets to British ATP Tour debutant Ryan Peniston in west London.

The French Open runner-up struggled to get going as he fell to a 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-2) defeat to the world number 180, who was backed by a boisterous home crowd throughout.

Ruud struggled from the off as Peniston forced four break points in the Norwegian's first service game, and his miserable outing was rounded off when his opponent raced into a 5-1 lead before serving out a second-set tie-break.

After claiming the scalp of the world number five, Peniston told the BBC: "I can't really believe it. It feels like a dream. It doesn't feel real.

"I think I've been playing well. Casper is an unreal player and he did so well at the French Open, so I knew it was a tough ask. Four or five years ago I was sitting in the crowd just watching so to be here now is just unreal."

Ruud was not the only big name to fall at the first hurdle, with fifth seed Diego Schwartzman going down 6-1 6-4 against big-serving Sam Querrey to become the fourth of the top five seeds to fail to reach the round of 16.

Second seed and defending champion Matteo Berrettini is the exception after faring much better against another home favourite, cruising past Dan Evans 6-3 6-3, while Stan Wawrinka downed Francis Tiafoe 7-6 (7-2) 6-7 (6-8) 7-6 (7-5), and Denis Shapovalov's clash with Tommy Paul was suspended by darkness at one set apiece. 

Elsewhere, world number six Stefanos Tsitsipas progressed through his opening match at the Halle Open, beating Benjamin Bonzi 7-6 (7-1) 1-6 6-3 to set up an enticing last-16 clash with Nick Kyrgios, who bested Daniel Altmaier 6-3 7-5.

Fourth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime also progressed after being taken to three sets, beating Marcos Giron 6-3 5-7 6-3.

Meanwhile, defending champion Ugo Humbert will face a tough round-of-16 match against fifth seed Hubert Hurkacz after the Pole overcame Maxime Cressy 6-4 4-6 6-4. 

The US Open has announced players from Russia and Belarus will be allowed to compete in this year’s tournament despite the ongoing war in Ukraine.

The decision means world number one Daniil Medvedev can defend his title.

While the United States Tennis Association is allowing Russian and Belarusians to enter the tournament, the athletes must play under a neutral flag. The French Open, which concluded on June 5, allowed Russian and Belarusians to compete under the same conditions.

"Alongside the other grand slams, the ITF, the ATP and the WTA, the USTA, which owns and operates the US Open, has previously condemned, and continues to condemn, the unprovoked and unjust invasion of Ukraine by Russia," the USTA said in a statement.

"The USTA, standing with these other tennis entities, supported the banning of the Russian and Belarusian Tennis Federations from the ITF, and therefore all international team competitions, and the directive for players from those countries to play under a neutral flag when competing outside of international team competitions."

Since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February, several organisations have banned Russian athletes from participating. Wimbledon, which starts on June 27, announced back in April that Russian and Belarusians would be barred from competing.

"We recognise that each organisation has had to deal with unique circumstances that affect their decisions," the USTA's statement read. "Based on our own circumstances, the USTA will allow all eligible players, regardless of nationality, to compete at the 2022 US Open."

The US Open begins on August 29 in New York.