With the uncertainty about the tournament in Queens and whether the Ranking points would be stripped after Wimbledon's decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players, I do think it has suffered in the entry list.
In previous years, Queens has had so many of the top names involved, but the field clearly looks weaker in 2022, although Matteo Berrettini is back as the defending Champion fresh off his success last week in Stuttgart.
After a difficult ending to the clay court season, it was good to get the grass court season off to a winning start with both Picks on Sunday coming back as winners.
It is something to build upon with another busy week to come as four events get underway on Monday.
Cameron Norrie - 1.5 games v Grigor Dimitrov: This is the first grass court event being played by both Cameron Norrie and Grigor Dimitrov and they would have likely been hoping for an 'easier' First Round match than the one in front of them.
He may represent Britain, but Cameron Norrie had not really played that well on the grass courts before reaching the Final here at Queens last year. The lefty followed that up by making the Third Round at Wimbledon before losing to Roger Federer in four sets and so there may be more confidence going into the next month than Cameron Norrie has had previously.
I won't ignore the fact that the draws opened up for Cameron Norrie last year with the best win coming in the Semi Final at this event when he beat Denis Shapovalov. However, that is one of just two wins against opponents Ranked inside the top 30 in 2021 and Cameron Norrie will still have something to prove as he begins another run at Queens.
Facing someone like Grigor Dimitrov will give Cameron Norrie plenty to think about with the Bulgarian being comfortable on the grass courts, although recent years have become much tougher for Dimitrov.
Since reaching the Semi Final in Queens and following up with a Fourth Round run at Wimbledon in 2017, Grigor Dimitrov is just 2-5 in grass court matches. Last year he didn't even bother playing any grass court events in the lead into Wimbledon, while Grigor Dimitrov has won a single match in his two previous appearances at this event.
Both players will be confident in their serving numbers on the grass courts, but Cameron Norrie showed something with his returning in 2021. That is more than what we have seen from Grigor Dimitrov, while the higher Ranked player also has the mental edge from the previous two matches between them.
Those two matches may have both been played on the hard courts in 2021, but Cameron Norrie won both and has yet to drop a set to Grigor Dimitrov. There has been a clear edge in favour of Cameron Norrie who has held 85% of his service games played in those two matches compared with Dimitrov's 61% number and I do think the experiences of last year will aid the British player in this one.
In the last three seasons on the grass courts, Grigor Dimitrov has only broken in 16% of return games played and that has put significant pressure on his own serve. I think that could show up in this First Round match and Cameron Norrie should be able to serve well enough to get on top of Grigor Dimitrov and cover this spread in the victory.
Alexander Bublik - 2.5 games v Lorenzo Musetti: After Roland Garros came to a conclusion, most players would have been focusing on the grass court season and transitioning onto the surface before Wimbledon begins. For Lorenzo Musetti, it was a time to play a Challenger event on the clay before heading to Stuttgart and it is perhaps no surprise he was beaten in the First Round.
He did win the Challenger in Forli, but it did mean Lorenzo Musetti had little time on the grass before losing in Stuttgart.
Now he has had a few more days to adjust, but you cannot ignore the fact that the young Italian is playing just his third match on the surface and has been well beaten in his first two attempts at grass court tennis. The serve has the potential to be a weapon on grass, especially against a largely limited return player he is facing in the First Round in London, but Lorenzo Musetti has struggled when it comes to the return and I do think that goes against him here.
Alexander Bublik was beaten in the Second Round in Stuttgart, but that does mean he has a win under his belt and he is someone who has shown improvement in his grass court tennis in 2019 and 2021. The loss to Andy Murray would have hurt last week, but Alexander Bublik was guilty of some loose play and could easily have turned the match on its head if serving out the second set.
While not being the best return player, Alexander Bublik did break twice in both matches played last week and ended 2021 with 20% of return games ending with a break on the grass. I do think he will get a few more looks than Lorenzo Musetti in this one with that experience of stringing wins together giving him a mental edge in the match and I do think he can do enough to find the breaks needed to progress with a strong win on the scoreboard behind him.
As long as Alexander Bublik serves well, he should be able to contain the Lorenzo Musetti return and it could lead to frustration and scoreboard pressure wearing on the younger player. We have seen him crack in his only two previous grass court matches on the pro Tour and I can see Alexander Bublik becoming the latest to take advantage.
MY PICKS: Cameron Norrie - 1.5 Games @ 1.95 Bet Victor (2 Units)
Alexander Bublik - 2.5 Games @ 1.91 Bet Fred (2 Units)
Andrey Rublev - 3.5 Games @ 1.66 Bet365 (2 Units)
Ilya Ivashka-Jan-Lennard Struff Over 22.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet Fred (2 Units)
Viktorija Gloubic - 2.5 Games @ 2.00 Bet Fred (2 Units)
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