Scotland will feel the love of the Tartan Army at Hampden Park following the stunning start to their 2024 European Championship qualifying campaign and Steve Clarke hopes the good form continues against Georgia.

The Scots made it three wins out of three in Group A with a dramatic 2-1 comeback win in Oslo on Saturday.

The highly-acclaimed victory, thanks to late goals from striker Lyndon Dykes and midfielder Kenny McLean, followed home wins against Cyprus and top seeds Spain in March.

Clarke’s side now prepare to face second-placed Georgia in front of a packed-out national stadium, where they have won their last five matches.

“I am the guy in charge so they are not going to get too excited,” said Clarke of his players, before acknowledging the growing excitement among the supporters.

“It is good. Everybody likes to be loved so when you come into the environment at Hampden Park and the players feel the reception of the crowd before the game and in the warm-up, the national anthem, and hopefully when the game starts we can start on the front foot and get the crowd behind us – it is nice to be loved.

“They want to do well for the crowd. So let’s try to keep that momentum and keep going.

“If you are doing well professionally you feel good about yourself.

“The players are feeling good and they are looking forward to another full house here at Hampden tomorrow, they are looking forward to putting on another good performance and hopefully we get the right result and that feel-good factor continues.”

Clarke, however, noted the strengths of Georgia who moved in to second place, five points behind the Scots with a 2-1 win away to Cyprus on Saturday.

The former Scotland defender, whose squad is “all present and correct” ahead of Tuesday’s clash, said: “It will be difficult. I said right at the start we had the toughest group.

“Georgia are for sure the toughest pot four team, one defeat in 15 matches, they are on a good run, they will feel good about themselves,

“A good win away to Cyprus, a difficult place to go, they have some good players, a good shape to their team. So, tough game.

“In terms of keeping momentum going, a win would be good. It’s all we are focused on.

“We spoke after the March camp about capitalising on the home win against Spain, we managed to do that, albeit late on against Norway.

“Obviously there is a feel-good factor on the back of those  two results but we know football has a habit of biting you if you don’t respect the game.

“We respect our opponent and we respect the game and we try to get another three points against Georgia.”

Clarke believes “togetherness” is key to success with his squad, who are looking to make it to a second successive European Championship finals..

The former West Brom and Kilmarnock boss said: “It is something we have been working on in the last three/four years, since I have been in the job.

“It is something we have tried to build, the togetherness of the group.

“The core of the group are the ones who drive those standards and togetherness.

“Obviously when you are getting good results alongside that everything feels good but you have to understand in football, if you take your eye off the ball you can be punished.”

Ahead of Frankie Dettori’s final Royal Ascot before he retires at the end of the year, we remember 10 of his greatest moments at the showpiece meeting:

Markofdistinction

Dettori’s career in England famously took off when he teamed up with fellow Italian Luca Cumani, and he provided the jockey with his first Royal Ascot winner at the age of 19 in the Queen Anne in 1990. It was only a Group Two then, but Markofdistinction would go on to prove himself at the highest level in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes.

Drum Taps

Ambitiously campaigned by Lord Huntingdon, Drum Taps stepped up to two and a half miles for the 1992 Gold Cup to provide Dettori with his first Group One winner at the meeting. To prove it was no fluke the pair repeated the trick 12 months later. A real globetrotter, he won in America and Italy and also ran in France, Ireland, the Japan Cup and the Melbourne Cup, finishing ninth behind Vintage Crop.

Lochsong

One of the greatest sights in racing is a sprinter blasting off from the front and few were better at it than Ian Balding’s Lochsong. She won the Stewards’ Cup at three from a mark of 82 and the Ayr Gold Cup off 95 before stepping into Group company. In the first half of 1994 as a six-year-old she won the Palace House, Temple Stakes and King’s Stand, making all in each – the latter by five lengths.

Phantom Gold

Any victory in the late Queen’s colours was treasured by Dettori, but even more so at her favourite meeting. Never happier than when at the races, cheering home her own horse in the Ribblesdale Stakes, a horse she bred herself and ridden by her favourite jockey, will have given her immense satisfaction.

Starborough

Just 12 months on from his Magnificent Seven, Dettori’s love affair with Ascot was in full flow. The first of three successive leading rider awards came in 1997 and arguably the highlight that week was Starborough, one of four winners at the meeting in the St James’s Palace Stakes in the famous Sheikh Mohammed colours, as one of racing’s longest associations began to assert.

Fantastic Light

At the turn of the century Godolphin, Saeed bin Suroor and Dettori were at the peak of their powers and Fantastic Light was among the best they were involved with. In 2001 the Prince of Wales’s Stakes was one of four Group Ones victories, which also included a verdict over the great Galileo at Leopardstown and a win at the Breeders’ Cup. On the day at Ascot, he was in a different league.

Osaila

By 2015 Dettori had endured a well-publicised split from Godolphin and endured the lowest point of his career having been banned for six months for failing a drugs test in 2012. Upon his return he was afforded the chance to ride in the biggest races once more by Sheikh Joaan Al Thani’s Al Shaqab Racing, and it was in those silks that he rode his 50th Royal Ascot winner on Osaila in the Sandringham Handicap.

Lady Aurelia

American trainer Wesley Ward had been a regular visitor to the meeting for some years before teaming up with Dettori to win the Golden Jubilee in 2015 with Undrafted, but it will be the flying filly Lady Aurelia in the Queen Mary for which they perhaps will be best remembered. Not many five-furlong races are won by seven lengths, but when they are at Group Two level it is unheard of. She returned to win the King’s Stand a year later under John Velazquez.

Crystal Ocean

Riding Sir Michael Stoute’s charge for the first and only time, Dettori executed his plan to perfection in driving rain, tracking the early leader and angling out to the middle of the track to lay down his challenge in the straight. Crystal Ocean found plenty for pressure to repel the challenge of Magical and register a length-and-a-quarter success. Dettori’s partner was to become his adversary back at the track the following month though, when Crystal Ocean and Enable engaged in a famous King George battle with Dettori and the latter prevailing by the shortest of necks.

Stradivarius

In the twilight of his career, Dettori was synonymous with two horses – Enable, who never ran at Royal Ascot, and Stradivarius. The great stayer won three Ascot Gold Cups, including by 10 lengths in 2020 when unfortunately the crowds were absent due to Covid. A horse with a real personality, he was also a rarity in that he stayed two and a half miles but possessed a wicked turn of foot.

Andrew 'Beef' Johnston believes an Indian Premier League-style draft would make the LIV Tour more exciting and appealing following its merger with the PGA Tour.

In a contentious move earlier in June, the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Tour were merged, with all three now backed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF).

Johnston now wants to see improvements made to the sport, and one suggestion he has would be the introduction of a draft system for the LIV Teams.

Speaking to Stats Perform on behalf of the Beef's Golf Club podcast, Johnston pointed to the success that the IPL cricket competition has enjoyed using a similar formula.

"I'd like to see a kind of IPL draft. They have the franchises and then they do the draft, don't they? So, I'd love to see that," he said.

"Golf going into almost that kind of situation where the PGA and DP [Tours] play up until the end of July, and there's a big draft for the LIV [competitions].

"So, no one knows what team they're going to be on. You're going to have captains for that team, but no one really knows who they're going to be playing for and then go into a big team shoot-out for a few months, and I think that'd be a really good way to work it.

"I don't think it happens but in my perfect world, I'd love to see that happen."

LIV Golf caused much controversy after its emergence in 2022, with plenty of big names heading over to the rival tour.

"It'd be interesting if there's another one that comes up in a year's time - you never know, you can never say never, look what's happened," said Johnston when asked if the merger would prevent any other rival tours from emerging.

"You've seen it with cricket with the IPL and now there's loads of T20 leagues knocking around all over the world. So, you can never say never.

"Hopefully, now these three can settle down and build something good. And as a player, I want to be able to step off on that first tee knowing that if I play well, you can have a lot of crazy opportunities.

"If you do so, I don't think it's bad for the players. I think it's good for golf, that we're out of this crazy standoff.

"The standoff was not healthy for golf. So, we can move on."

Johnston added that some players may struggle to trust the tours after the move.

He said: "I think a lot of players are going to struggle with trust. And I think the whole thing that's quite interesting is generally the PGA Tour and DP Tour are built on the fact that the players own that, so we have control.

"Now, literally, we have zero control. And you've seen that the players don't have an actual say in it, not even Rory [McIlroy] or Tiger [Woods].

"You look at the football players who play for [PIF-backed] Newcastle [United], we're in the same situation now. So, I think the players should be freed up of any questions. We're supposed to have a say, and we don't."

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Having played a key role in the very start of Frankie Dettori’s love affair with Royal Ascot, Luca Cumani will be a keen observer when his compatriot bids for a fairytale ending to his association with the meeting.

It is 38 years since a then-teenage Dettori first touched down on British soil, at which stage his experience of riding thoroughbreds was almost as non-existent as his ability to speak English.

Cumani, by then an established trainer at Bedford House stables in Newmarket having previously served as assistant to the late, great Sir Henry Cecil, was tasked with showing his fellow Italian the ropes – and insists it did not take him long to realise he had a rough diamond on his hands.

“Frankie’s father was my father’s stable jockey in Italy, so that was the connection. His father decided that he wanted to send Frankie to England and that’s how it started,” said Cumani.

“When he arrived I knew I had a bit responsibility because this was a 14-year-old kid who couldn’t speak a word of English and had more or less ridden ponies and never really ridden racehorses before.

“But he was a very quick learner, he quickly learnt to speak English to a point and rode very well.

“It was not immediately obvious how much talent he had, but once he started get confidence on a horse and then he started riding work, you could see had a natural affinity with the job.”

It was four years after his arrival that Cumani gave Frankie Dettori his first taste of Royal Ascot, jocking up aboard his apparent second string Rain Burst in the 1989 Coronation Stakes.

Dettori, who at the time was still claiming 3lb, had steered the Sheikh Mohammed-owned filly to a win in lesser company at Goodwood just nine days earlier and she was a 12-1 shot stepping up in class.

Cumani also fielded Comic Talent, who lined up under stable jockey Ray Cochrane following a five-race winning streak in the Cheveley Park silks.

In the end neither were able to land a telling blow, but Rain Burst did outperform her better-fancied stablemate to finish fifth. Cumani had no doubt about giving Dettori his opportunity at the highest level, despite still being an apprentice.

He said: “He was only claiming 3lb and that was a fraud really because he was better than that.”

Dettori rounded off 1989 by being crowned champion apprentice and by the time the following year’s Royal Ascot came around, he was a fully-fledged jockey and Cumani’s main man.

The showpiece fixture got under way with the Queen Anne Stakes, in which Cumani and Dettori teamed up with Markofdistinction, who had previously finished fourth as a hot favourite for the Lockinge Stakes.

Cumani admits that while it was not entirely easy viewing, Dettori was at his brilliant best as he threaded the eye of the needle to secure the first of his 77 Royal Ascot wins to date.

“I remember it well because he took the daring route on the inside, going between runners and against the stands rail,” Cumani recalled.

“As he was poking his head in there I thought ‘good God, I hope he’s done the right thing here!’. Thankfully he burst through and won the race very well.

“We were hopeful of a good performance, never confident because with such high-class races you can’t be confident, but we were hopeful and he delivered.”

No one could have envisaged the glittering career Dettori would go on to enjoy, but Cumani added: “We had an inkling. The fact that he’d only just come out of his apprenticeship and we made him stable jockey was a big vote of confidence.

“We had a good idea that he was going to be around for a long time and was going to be very successful.”

Cumani brought the curtain down on his own illustrious racing career in 2018, retiring from the training ranks after saddling two Derby winners in Kahyasi (1988) and High-Rise (1998) and countless other big-race winners over the course of 43 years.

He will not be travelling to Ascot but would love Dettori to bag at least one winner on his final Royal meeting performance, even if he believes he was hasty in his decision to announce his impending retirement late last year.

“I won’t be going at all this year because my wife has had a foot operation and is hobbling about, so we’ll be watching from home,” Cumani said.

“I send Frankie a message every time he wins a big race and tell him he’s making a mistake in giving up and should carry on!

“He will be a big loss to racing and I’m sure he’s thought about it (changing his mind), but he seems to be determined this will be his last year, or so he tells me!”

Max Verstappen must be considered among the greatest drivers in Formula One history, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has said, following the Dutchman’s landmark win at the Canadian Grand Prix.

Verstappen’s emphatic lights-to-flag victory on Sunday was the 41st of his career, putting him level with triple world champion Ayrton Senna.

Only Lewis Hamilton (103 victories), Michael Schumacher (91), Sebastian Vettel (53) and Alain Prost (51) have won more races than Verstappen, who is still only 25.

Verstappen, who started from pole in Montreal following a fine display in Saturday’s wet-dry-wet qualifying session, has triumphed at six of the opening eight rounds this year to open up a commanding 69-point championship lead. Fernando Alonso finished second for Aston Martin with Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton third.

“What we are witnessing with Max is the emergence of another mega talent,” said Horner.

“You can start talking about him in the same sentence as the greats now after he matched Ayrton Senna.

“I thought the podium today was very apt actually, in terms of the last couple of decades of Formula One, with Max, Fernando and Lewis up there.

“Max just keeps delivering at such a high level. The race was fantastic but to take pole position in conditions that were continually changing, and his ability to adapt to whatever grip level he had, was Max at his best.”

Verstappen has won four consecutive races and 15 of the last 19 in F1. Red Bull also remain unbeaten this year, and there remains a distinct possibility that the team from Milton Keynes could make history by winning every race in a single campaign.

Hamilton recorded his second consecutive podium finish in his revamped Mercedes machine, but despite the Silver Arrows’ upturn in form, and with 14 rounds still remaining, the seven-time world champion believes Red Bull could complete a perfect campaign.

“I know what I am faced with and there is nothing I can do about Red Bull’s amazing performance,” said Hamilton.

“It is likely that they will win every race this year unless the Aston Martins and us can provide a lot more performance or if their car doesn’t finish.

“It is not a frustration. We have got work to do and I am happy to be back in the mix and I am just hoping that at some stage we are level so we can get back to some of the good races we had in 2021.”

Bournemouth have sacked Gary O’Neil less than seven months after he was appointed as the club’s permanent head coach.

O’Neil guided the Cherries to Premier League safety last season following the dismissal of Scott Parker at the end of August.

According to a club statement, the appointment of a new head coach will be announced imminently.

Bournemouth owner Bill Foley said: “Gary’s achievement last season is one I will always be grateful for.

“This has been a difficult decision, but it has been made with great consideration to best position ourselves ahead of the coming season.”

O’Neil initially took over from Parker on an interim basis following a 9-0 thrashing at Liverpool before being appointed permanently in November.

The 40-year-old took 36 points from his 34 top-flight games in charge to help the Cherries avoid relegation following promotion from the Championship.

“As a club, we have put plans in place for long-term success with improvements being made to infrastructure, most notably the development of a new state-of-the-art training facility and the ongoing discussions around upgrades to our stadium,” continued the statement from American Foley, who completed his takeover of the south-coast club in December.

“We have also identified a number of significant targets in the transfer market this summer and believe this change in direction will provide us with the best platform from which to build.

“Gary will go on to have a long career as a head coach or manager, but we feel that, at this moment in time, a change is in the best interests of this football club.”

Andy Murray’s victory at Nottingham took him to his highest singles ranking in over five years and raised hopes of a Wimbledon seeding.

When Murray was ranked 839th in the world in July 2018 as he recovered from his first hip surgery, challenging at grand slams again seemed a forlorn hope but he has fought back into the world’s top 40.

Here, the PA news agency looks at the Scot’s road back.

Ranking history

Back-to-back titles at the Lexus Surbiton Trophy and the Rothesay Open Nottingham have lifted Murray to 38th in the ATP world rankings.

That is his best position since he was listed 34th in the April 23, 2018 update, with a turbulent period in between as Murray battled his hip problems.

He had dropped out of the top 100 by June of that year and to a career low of 839 in the July 16, 2018 edition of the rankings.

He remained outside the top 200 until October 2019 and though he climbed to 102 in July 2021, he ended that year ranked 134th and did not re-enter the top 100 until February 7, 2022 when we was 95th.

He made the top 50 briefly last June and for most of the year from August onwards. After dipping back as low as 70 in February, he has now spent five straight weeks in the top 50 since the May 8 update.

Tournament wins

Murray’s only tournament win on the main ATP Tour since his surgeries came at the 2019 European Open in Antwerp.

That came via an impressive win over fellow three-time grand slam champion Stan Wawrinka in the final, while his semi-final opponent Ugo Humbert would go on to win the event the following year.

He reached further finals in Sydney and Stuttgart last year and Doha this February, where he lost to Daniil Medvedev.

His grass-court wins in Surbiton and Nottingham made it three titles for him on this year’s ATP Challenger Tour, having also won on the clay of Aix-en-Provence in May.

Queen’s record

Murray now takes his form to the biggest grass-court tournament outside of Wimbledon, knowing a deep run in the cinch Championships at The Queen’s Club could earn him a spot among the 32 seeds at SW19.

His past record there offers plenty of encouragement, with a record five titles to his name.

He won the event ahead of his two Wimbledon triumphs in 2013 and 2016 as well as in 2009, 2011 and 2015 to stand alone as Queen’s Club’s most successful player.

He will need to reach at least the quarter-finals this year to have a chance of being seeded at Wimbledon and the less-encouraging omen is his somewhat boom-and-bust record – outside of his five wins he has reached just one other quarter-final, which he lost to Andy Roddick in 2008.

Murray has lost in the last 16 four times – most recently two years ago against Matteo Berrettini – and the last 32 three times with a solitary last-64 exit back in 2006.

Celtic have announced the return of Brendan Rodgers as manager on a three-year contract.

Rodgers replaces Ange Postecoglou four years and four months after his sudden departure to Leicester after winning seven out of seven domestic trophies with the Hoops.

Rodgers said on the club’s website: “I am really delighted to return to Celtic and I am hugely excited by this great opportunity. When I was given the privilege of being asked to join the club again, it was a very simple decision for me and my family.

“We have enjoyed some great times at Celtic before and this will be my goal again, to deliver good football, ensure we have a team we all love to watch and ultimately bring more success to our fans.

“Ange has done some brilliant work across the last two years and I will be doing all I can to maintain Celtic’s momentum as we face into all our domestic and European challenges.

“We have a hugely impressive and talented group of players and staff at the club, and I am really looking forward to meeting up with them all and then getting straight down to work.”

Celtic confirmed their coaching staff underneath Rodgers will remain unchanged with John Kennedy and Gavin Strachan both staying despite reported interest from Tottenham.

Rodgers had previously attempted to take former Scotland and Celtic defender Kennedy with him to Leicester.

“I wanted John to be with me as we move forward,” Rodgers said. “He is a very talented coach, someone I know well and respect and he will be very important to myself and our players.

“The club is in fantastic condition at all levels and I would like to thank the board for putting their trust in me to take the team forward. We will work very closely together as we strive to bring that success to our supporters.”

Principal shareholder Dermot Desmond is said to have taken a key role in persuading Rodgers to return to Glasgow.

Desmond said: “Our aim at Celtic will always be to bring individuals of the highest calibre to the club to achieve our objectives, and in appointing Brendan we believe we have again brought that quality to the club.

“Brendan is a very talented manager, he has huge experience at the highest levels and is a man who knows how to win and do so in style. As we enter another exciting period for the club I am sure he will tackle the opportunities ahead with his characteristic focus, drive and determination.

“We have all enjoyed great success across recent years, Brendan himself being a huge part of that. I know Brendan is determined to deliver again for our supporters and collectively, the board, management, players and staff will support him in this aim.”

Celtic chief executive Michael Nicholson added: “Having spoken to Brendan and discussed the club’s strategy and objectives with him, I can see the passion he has for taking the club forward positively and building on what we have achieved.”

Newly-crowned US Open champion Wyndham Clark believes he deserves his place among the game’s elite after claiming his maiden major title in impressive fashion.

Despite winning his first PGA Tour title six weeks ago, Clark was an 120/1 outsider at Los Angeles Country Club, having made just two cuts in six previous majors with a best finish of 75th in the 2021 US PGA.

Yet it was the 29-year-old American who held his nerve in a tense final round to finish top of the leaderboard on 10 under par, with major champions Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and Cameron Smith filling the minor places.

Clark’s victory will take him from 32nd to a career-high 13th in the world rankings and also up to second in the qualifying race for the US Ryder Cup team.

“I feel like I belong on this stage and even two, three years ago when people didn’t know who I was, I felt like I could still play and compete against the best players in the world,” Clark said.

“I feel like I’ve shown that this year. I’ve come up close (to winning) and obviously everyone sees the person that hoists the trophy, but I’ve been trending in the right direction for a long time now.

“I’ve made a lot of cuts. I’ve had a handful of top 10s and top 20s and I feel like I’ve been on a great trajectory to get to this place.

“Obviously it’s gone faster than I thought as far as just starting to do some stuff mentally that I’ve never done before, but I feel like I’m one of the best players in the world.

“Obviously this just shows what I believe can happen.

“But at the same time I’m a pretty humble, calm guy and I don’t try to get too high or too low on things. I’m obviously going to celebrate this, but I like to compete.

“I’m so competitive. I want to beat everybody but also be friends with everybody. So I try to have a good mix of that.”

Clark’s victory came on Father’s Day but it was no surprise that his thoughts immediately turned to his late mother Lise, who was a huge influence on his career before her death from breast cancer in 2013.

Lise’s death hit Clark hard and he seriously considered quitting the sport as he battled bouts of depression and frustration throughout his college career and early years in the professional ranks.

“I didn’t show any emotion off the course, but when I was on the golf course, I couldn’t have been angrier,” Clark recalled.

“I was breaking clubs when I didn’t even hit that bad of a shot. I was walking off golf courses. When I transferred from Oklahoma State to Oregon was another low point and I think that was a lot of carryover from my mom passing.

“So when I went to Oregon and Casey Martin then took over as my head coach, he instilled that I was one of the best players in the world and he goes, ‘you’re good enough to play on this stage but also in college and win’.

“Then I had my best year ever. I got out here (on Tour) pretty quick, but even those first few years, I felt like I under-performed.

“I’ve had many times where I’ve gone home and was yelling in my car and punching things and just so mad that I’m like, ‘Why can’t I do what my peers are doing that I know I can play with and against and beat?’

“I’ve probably had three to four really defining moments in my career since college, but I’m really glad that I stuck it through.

“Being here now, I just feel so blessed. It’s honestly surreal to look back and think about the journey the last seven to 10 years.”

Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell has warned Riku Danzaki faces a battle to break into his team.

The Japanese midfielder arrived from a spell with Brisbane Roar in January and played in Steven Hammell’s final three matches, but only featured once under Kettlewell, as an 89th-minute substitute in a 2-0 win over Hearts on February 19.

Injuries were partly to blame for his absence but Kettlewell was happy with the likes of Blair Spittal, Callum Slattery and Harry Paton in his midfield.

The 23-year-old was viewed as a player whose impact would increase once he settled into Scotland and the style of football but he looks like he faces a challenge to get into Kettlewell’s plans.

The Motherwell manager said: “I never signed Riku, it has been really hard to get him on the park, there have been a number of issues in terms of his fitness. He was back fit for a few days then had to drop out. It’s been a frustration for hm and the football club, it’s been very much stop-start.

“Obviously Riku sits with a contract at the football club, he was brought here for a reason, but prior to that when he was fit, it was difficult for him to get into the team as well. We only go based on results and performances in training and what we see on the pitch on a Saturday and it has been difficult for him to get in.

“It’s hard when it’s that change of culture and country, I acknowledge all these factors, but these things are all taken into consideration when there are decisions made on who plays. I’ve been very loyal to guys who have been fit and able to play for us on a Saturday, and that’s what I believe in.

“Riku, technically, you can understand why he was brought to the club for a particular style of play. That has substantially changed, in terms of formation. Riku would probably indicate he is a number 10. I have not played with a number 10 at times.

“I see it a completely different way, so that would probably let you acknowledge why it could be difficult for him at times to get in. ”

Motherwell returned for pre-season training on Monday morning with Ricki Lamie present after getting a hernia surgery late last season after the Steelmen had secured their top-flight status.

“I need to pay testament to Ricki, because a lot of players would have wanted to get that operation done instantly,” Kettlewell said.

“Ricki still felt he could offer us something, he was still available. I know he would have wanted more game-time, but such has been the form of the guys at the back that it has been difficult to get into the team.

“But full marks, in the modern day where sometimes I think players are quite happy to miss training sessions and games, but Ricki didn’t miss a single thing.

“We got him in for surgery a wee bit earlier and that gave him the chance to start pre-season and make sure he is fully up to speed.”

Andy Murray knows what he needs to do at Queen’s this week in order to achieve a seeded ranking for Wimbledon.

Murray returns to his favourite stomping ground, where he is a five-time champion, on the back of successive titles on the ATP Challenger Tour.

The 36-year-old’s success in Nottingham took him up to 38 in the world – his highest ranking since his hip operation – and a run to the last four at Queen’s would be enough to take him into the top 32 and guarantee a seeding at SW19.

It will not be easy for Murray, though, as the class in opposition will be a step up from the second tier, beginning with his first-round match with world number 18 Alex de Minaur on Tuesday.

“When I made the decision to come and play Nottingham rather than the 250s (ATP Tour tournaments), I was at least going to have to win here and maybe make the semis at Queen’s as well because I did well last year and I have given myself a chance,” said Murray, who is defending ranking points from his run to the final at Stuttgart this time last year.

“I pretty much know what I have to do, and if I make the semis at Queen’s I will definitely make seeding and maybe the quarters may be enough.”

Murray’s double success at Surbiton and Nottingham has seen him play 10 matches in 14 days, a big physical test for him considering he is playing with a metal hip.

The two-time Wimbledon champion will have a light day on Monday ahead of Tuesday’s match-up with Australian De Minaur, whose girlfriend Katie Boulter also won in Nottingham on Sunday.

“It has been tough, I found Sunday’s match hard, two quite late finishes and then a big change by playing at 11am, a completely different preparation,” Murray added.

“But I am going completely match tight, I make sure I do all the right recovery stuff. I will treat Monday as a day off and get ready for Tuesday.

“He (De Minaur) loves playing on the grass, a lot of the Aussies do. It is not going to be easy, he makes you work very hard and is quick around the court. He is a very good returner.”

Connections of Laurel will look to the Tattersalls Falmouth Stakes after she was frustratingly ruled out of the Duke of Cambridge Stakes with a late setback.

Trained by John and Thady Gosden, the daughter of Kingman was towards the top of the market for the one-mile Royal Ascot Group Two – a race which had been her main target for the first half of the season – but her name was missing from the 10 declarations on Monday.

A winner of three of her five starts, she would have had a fine chance of bouncing back from a below-par effort in the Lockinge where she was tasked with taking on colts for the first time.

However, she suffered an issue over the weekend which will keep her on the sidelines during the Royal meeting, with the focus now switching to getting her back to full fitness for her next assignment, which could come on July 14 at Newmarket’s July Festival.

“She’s just had a little setback over the weekend and this morning John and Thady weren’t 100 per cent happy with her, so unfortunately we couldn’t declare her,” said Barry Mahon, European racing manager for owners Juddmonte.

“It’s just a bit of wear or tear and it was 50-50, but you are on the big stage and when you are not 100 per cent happy it’s not worth taking the risk. So we said we will give her an easy few days and probably aim for the Falmouth at the July meeting.”

Mahon added: “It’s frustrating as this is the race we had in mind for her all year, but the filly’s welfare always comes first and once the trainer wasn’t 100 per cent happy that was it, there was no question.”

Adayar, Luxembourg and Bay Bridge will clash in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot on Wednesday.

A field of six line up in the day two feature, which promises to be a mouthwatering affair despite the enforced absence of last year’s Derby winner Desert Crown.

Winner of the Epsom Classic himself in 2021, the Charlie Appleby-trained Adayar looked as good as ever on his return in the Gordon Richards Stakes at Newmarket.

Aidan O’Brien’s Luxembourg, meanwhile, was an all-the-way winner from Sir Michael Stoute’s Bay Bridge – who beat Adayar in the Champion Stakes at Ascot – in the Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh.

Born To Rock (Jane Chapple-Hyam) and Beautiful Diamond (Karl Burke) head the market for the Queen Mary, which also features intriguing American challengers in the shape of Bundchen (Wesley Ward) and Crimson Advocate (George Weaver).

In the Royal Hunt Cup, Frankie Dettori will carry the silks of the King and Queen aboard the John and Thady Gosden-trained Reach For The Moon.

Although Laurel was not declared for the Duke of Cambridge Stakes, it could still be a big day for the Gosdens and Dettori, as they also have Gregory in the 14-strong Queen’s Vase – where the Stoute-trained Circle Of Fire is the royal representative with Richard Kingscote in the saddle.