The 2016 edition of the Aegon Championships, the ATP tennis event at Queen’s Club in surburban London, represents a taste of Wimbledon two weeks before Wimbledon. It’s the British public’s main chance to sample ATP tennis before the move to the All-England Club for the most famous tournament in tennis. During the same week, WTA fans can go to Birmingham for the Aegon Classic, part of a jam-packed week for tennis enthusiasts in Great Britain.
The competition in the 32-player main draw began on Monday, June 13.
Event Details
Event: Aegon Championships
Category: ATP World Tour – 500 Series
Date: June 13 -19, 2016
Location: Queen’s Club – London, England
With a prize money allotment of just over 1.8 million Euros, the 500-point tournament isn’t as lucrative as Dubai, but it’s still an event of appreciable value for various players, financially and in terms of rankings points. The event’s importance is not chiefly tied to points (though 500 is nothing to sneeze at), but to the ability to get match play in advance of Wimbledon against quality competition. The grass season is so short that players can’t be overly choosy about which events they enter before Wimbledon. Most players on tour need at least one warm-up event to reacquaint themselves with the unique dimensions of grass tennis – the changing surface, the odd bounces, the slick feel of the turf, the shorter nature of points, the lower hitting zone for most players, the need to hit more backhand slices, and all the other things grass tennis brings to the table.
The points structure under the ATP system is that the championship means 500 points. A runner-up finish is worth 300. A semifinal result is 180 points, and a quarterfinal appearance offers 90 points. A round-of-16 results provides 45 points.
Former Champions and Results (5 Years)
Year Champion Runner-up Score
2015 – Andy Murray def. Kevin Anderson – 6-3, 6-4
2014 – Grigor Dimitrov def. Feliciano Lopez – 6-7, 7-6, 7-6
2013 – Andy Murray def. Marin Cilic – 5-7, 7-5, 6-3
2012 – Marin Cilic def. David Nalbandian – 6-7, 4-3 (Nalbandian was defaulted for injuring a linesman)
2011 – Andy Murray def. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga – 3-6, 7-6, 6-4
Player Info:
It’s a very strong field for a 500-point tournament, and the reason is that the top players on the tour need the practice before Wimbledon. Andy Murray is the top seed. He’s the No. 2 player in the world. It’s going to be interesting to see how he performs here as he appears to be in very good form. Murray made it all the way to the French Open final a couple of weeks ago, which is impressive for him. With Federer and Nadal both dealing with injuries, he’s probably the only player in the world that can stop Djokovic from taking Wimbledon.
The other player in the top five who is at this tournament is Stan Wawrinka. He’s the second seed in the tournament behind Murray. However, Wawrinka isn’t typically as strong on grass as he is other surfaces. He has a 67% career win percentage on clay and he’s won 63% of his matches on the hard courts. On grass, though, he’s won just 54% of his matches (26-22), including 5-2 in main draws last year and 7-2 in 2014. He’s made it at least to the semifinal of every grand except Wimbledon. If you’re looking at betting this event, he’s probably not someone who is a good bet to win it all.
Milos Raonic, who will be partially coached by John McEnroe during the grass season as a trial run, is the third seed. He might be an interesting investment as a player on the rise. Richard Gasquet is fourth. Marin Cilic is fifth, Roberto Bautista Agut is sixth. John Isner is seventh, and Gilles Simon is eighth.
Rafael Nadal and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga had intended to play, but will not, due to injuries. Nadal announced that he will not play at Wimbledon in a few weeks.
Queen’s Club
The Queen’s Club is part of the history and the fabric of tennis. Founded in 1886, its roots go back to the beginnings of lawn tennis in England, and the Lawn Tennis Association had a longtime relationship with this facility. This tournament extends back to 1890. Rod Laver, Pete Sampras, and many other greats of the game have won Queen’s Club through the years.
