Andy Murray branded a contentious poster of past and present Wimbledon greats a “disaster” as he highlighted the lack of prominence given to female players.

Two-time Wimbledon champion Murray was a notable absentee from the official All England Club artwork which features 15 famous players walking down a staircase.

Young pair Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz – neither of whom have made an impact at the Championships yet – stand in the foreground of the painting, followed by a selection of “epic” rivalries, beginning with Murray’s long-time competitors Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

Of the six women depicted, only Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova are among the front 11 players, with the other four, including Serena and Venus Williams, at the back.

While Murray’s uncle and brother criticised his exclusion, the Scot insisted that is not the issue as he spoke about the poster for the first time since its release.

With a smile, he initially said: “It was a disaster, wasn’t it? I don’t need to elaborate any more on it, it’s pretty obvious if you see the poster.”

Asked about four of the front five groups of rivals being men, he continued: “That was what was slightly strange.

“I guess the players that are on the poster are ones that have had incredible careers and have been unbelievably successful at Wimbledon.

“But elsewhere are some of the greatest players of all time.

“For me, Alcaraz and Sinner are unbelievable players but it just seems strange that they were all sort of behind them.

“I personally don’t really care that much about it. But I can see when you look at it’s like, ‘that does look a bit strange’.

“Me not being on it is certainly not a problem.”

Murray’s final warm-up ahead of Wimbledon ended in a 6-4 6-4 loss to world number six world number six Holger Rune at the Giorgio Armani Tennis Classic.

The 36-year-old, who is ranked 39th, goes into his home slam unseeded and awaiting his fate in Friday’s draw.

While he would relish another meeting with reigning champion Djokovic before the end of his career, Murray is keen to avoid star names in the early rounds, albeit he is ready for that scenario.

“Ideally that wouldn’t happen right at the beginning,” he said of facing a top seed. “I would obviously want that to happen probably later in the tournament.

“But at the same time, because of the situation, I need to be prepared for that. I need to be ready to play against anyone right from the start.

“I’ve had some pretty tough first-round draws in the slams over the last couple of years so I need to to be ready for that and I think I am.

“Obviously, I would love to play against Novak again. I can’t remember the last time we played. It’s a long time ago.”

Murray moved well on court against 20-year-old Dane Rune at the Hurlingham Club but could not capitalise on his chances as he slipped to defeat.

Prior to last week’s first-round exit at Queen’s Club, he had won 10 successive matches in claiming back-to-back grass-court titles in Surbiton and Nottingham.

“Form-wise, I think has been good,” he said of his recent displays. “There are some positive signs there.

“Maybe the other players would see it differently but I don’t think there are loads of guys that would want to draw me in the first round. That’s a good place to be.”

Andy Murray’s final warm-up for Wimbledon ended in a straight sets defeat to world number six Holger Rune at the Hurlingham Club.

The two-time Wimbledon champion, who opted for some extra match play following his first-round exit at Queen’s Club last week, was beaten 6-4 6-4 at the Giorgio Armani Tennis Classic.

Murray moved well on court against his 20-year-old opponent but could not capitalise on his chances, notably four break points in the sixth game of a tight opening set.

A double fault from the 36-year-old gifted Rune the first break of the contest and he was ultimately unable to battle back after dropping serve in the first game of the second.

Murray had won 10 successive matches in claiming back-to-back grass-court titles in Surbiton and Nottingham before suffering an early exit at Queen’s at the hands of Alex De Minaur.

“It’s great obviously to play these sorts of matches a few days out from Wimbledon,” Murray said in his on-court interview after his defeat.

“He’s one of the top players in the world, so you get to see exactly where your game is at. There are things to work on but it keeps you very sharp.

“I would have liked to have done a little bit better but I can start from here and build on this.”

Two days before discovering his fate as an unseeded player in the Wimbledon draw, the Scot was given a serious workout on a warm afternoon in west London.

A fashion show provided the pre-match entertainment on the north bank of the river Thames and it was the energetic Rune who proved to be the more stylish on court.

Like many of the catwalk models, the Dane had his baseball cap on backwards and he exuded the confidence of a player who has recently won four ATP titles, including defeating Novak Djokovic in the 2022 Paris Masters final.

Former world number one Murray grew into the encounter and showed glimpses of his grand-slam winning best throughout with soft hands at the net, powerful groundstrokes and some delightful lobs.

However, Rune often had the edge when it mattered in an exhibition match lasting around an hour and 40 minutes.

Murray, currently ranked 39 by the ATP, was finally broken in the ninth game following one of a handful of double faults across the high-profile exhibition match.

Rune wasted little time in wrapping up the set and then swiftly backed it up with a further break en route to another impressive victory of his fledgling career which underlines his credentials as an outsider for glory at SW19 in the coming fortnight.

Andy Murray will warm up for Wimbledon with a match against rising star Holger Rune at the Giorgio Armani Tennis Classic at Hurlingham on Wednesday.

The two-time former Wimbledon champion has opted for some extra match play following his first-round exit to Alex De Minaur at Queen’s Club last week.

World number six Rune, 20, reached the semi-finals of the cinch Championships before also losing to De Minaur and should provide strong opposition for Murray at the exhibition event.

Hurlingham frequently attracts the world’s best players and will also host world number one Carlos Alcaraz, top British player Cameron Norrie and defending Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic.

The Serbian, who will bid to equal Roger Federer’s tally of eight titles at the All England Club, faces exciting American star Frances Tiafoe on Thursday.

The tennis highlight of the British summer is upon us again with the 2023 edition of Wimbledon.

Here, the PA news agency picks out five talking points ahead of this year’s tournament.

Ukraine-Russian tensions to resume

Andy Murray’s uncle and brother have questioned why the two-time Wimbledon champion is not on an official poster of past and present greats.

The All England Club posted on its social media channels an image of 15 famous players walking down a staircase.

Under the banner “here’s to the next generation of headline acts”, young duo Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz – neither of whom have made an impact at the Championships yet – stand in the foreground.

Behind them are a selection of “epic” rivalries including Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe, Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova and Serena and Venus Williams.

But Murray, who ended Britain’s 77-year wait for a men’s champion in 2013, is nowhere to be seen.

His uncle, Niall Erskine, tweeted underneath the image: “Appalling at every level, all about the men in the forefront and your own British history maker nowhere to be seen. You should be ashamed of yourselves.”

And Jamie Murray, who has been competing along with his brother at the cinch Championships this week, replied to Wimbledon’s Instagram post with “Where’s @andymurray?”

He added: “Didn’t they talk about the big 4 for 10 years until he smashed his hip to pieces when he was world No 1?”

Illustrator Grant Gruenhaupt responded by saying more paintings are planned.

Meanwhile, Jamie Murray and partner Michael Venus lost their first-round doubles match at Queen’s Club against Matthew Hebden and Rohan Bopanna in two tie-breaks.

Andy Murray was due to play in the doubles alongside Cameron Norrie later on Wednesday but the Scot, knocked out of the singles on Tuesday, has withdrawn from the event.

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.

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.”

On this day in 2016, Andy Murray won a record fifth Aegon Championships title at Queen’s Club with victory over Milos Raonic.

Although he lost the first set and was 3-0 down in the second, Murray pulled off a great fightback to secure a 6-7 (5) 6-4 6-3 victory over the world number nine.

Victory also ensured his success was unparalleled at Queen’s with a record fifth title, moving him ahead of four-time winners including Roy Emerson, Boris Becker, Lleyton Hewitt, Andy Roddick, and John McEnroe.

“It’s a tournament that obviously means a lot to me,” Murray said afterwards.

“It’s been my most successful tournament by far, clearly. To be the first player to win five times is… it’s not an easy tournament to win.

“It always has a great field and the players I have beaten in the finals, a lot of times have been top players. It’s not like I have had easy finals.

“They have been top, top players, most of them top 10, some of them grand slam winners, grand slam finalists. That’s good.”

The win put the Scot in good stead ahead of preparations for Wimbledon, which was set to begin just eight days later.

Both players met again in the final as Murray won 6-4 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-2) to become Wimbledon champion for a second time.

Andy Murray continued his excellent preparation for Wimbledon with a second successive title.

The former world number one followed up his win at Surbiton last week with a flawless display to lift the Rothesay Nottingham Open.

Murray beat Frenchman Arthur Cazaux 6-4 6-4 in the final to make it 10 wins in a row.

That is his best sequence since 2017, when he still topped the world rankings and was not playing with a metal hip.

And he will now head to his favourite stomping ground at Queen’s, where another good week will see him improve his ranking enough to be seeded at SW19.

He made it through the week at Nottingham without dropping a set, but it was a second-tier Challenger event so he will receive a truer test of where his game is at next week at Queen’s, with the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Matteo Berrettini and Holger Rune all in the draw.

However, on the evidence of his movement, serving and matchplay this week, he looks a good bet to enjoy his best run at Wimbledon since he hobbled out of the 2017 quarter-finals with the hip injury that derailed his career.

His physicality was tested here as he won his semi-final at 6.30pm on Saturday night but was back on at 11am for the final, which was brought forward owing to the threat of rain on Sunday afternoon.

He hit the ground running, though, breaking the world number 181 in the opening game before eventually seeing the first set out 6-4.

The second set was much tighter, owing to Cazaux’s big serve, but Murray broke at 4-4 and then served it out to get his hands on the trophy.

Andy Murray completed a clean sweep of British victories on Nottingham’s Centre Court to make it through to the semi-finals of the Rothesay Open.

After Jodie Burrage, Katie Boulter and Heather Watson all reached the last four of the women’s event, Murray defeated Dominic Stricker 7-6 (2) 7-5 for his eighth-successive victory.

The 36-year-old is bidding to win a second-successive title on the second-tier Challenger Tour having triumphed in Surbiton last week and is yet to drop a set in Nottingham.

He said of the home success in his on-court interview: “Obviously this week’s been great. A couple of weeks ago we were hearing British tennis wasn’t doing well. Things change a lot on a week-to-week basis.

“You just want all of the players to reach their potential, make sure everyone’s working hard.

“Not everyone is going to win Wimbledon and grand slams but you just want to make sure everyone is making the most of this amazing opportunity to play tennis for a living.

“This week has obviously been brilliant, the women have done extremely well and hopefully that continues through the year. It should be a fun weekend for the British tennis fans.”

He did not have things all his own way against 20-year-old Swiss Stricker, with neither man able to create a break point in the opening set.

Murray played a fine tie-break to move in front, clenching his fist as he sat down in his chair, but it was Stricker who made the first move in the second set.

The eighth seed took his third chance to break for 3-1 only for Murray to respond straight away and Stricker then took a medical time-out for treatment to his back.

With the clock ticking past 8pm, Murray pushed for another break and finally got it, a Stricker backhand dropping wide to give his opponent the chance to serve for the match – and the Scot made no mistake.

Murray, who next faces Portugal’s Nuno Borges, feels he is heading firmly in the right direction, saying: “It was a really, really tight match today against one of the best young players in the world.

“He has a really good game, huge shots from the back of the court but also really nice touch up at the net.

“I’m really glad to get through that one because it was really close. That’s the best I’ve played across the last two weeks in terms of how I hit the ball and everything. It was really positive.”

Andy Murray was looking forward to going home to tell his kids he triumphed at the Lexus Surbiton Trophy after they missed the end of the final due to the rain delay.

The Scot defeated Austrian Jurij Rodionov 6-3 6-2 in the men’s final, earning him a seeded position at Wimbledon next month, with the 36-year-old now eyeing a third title at his home grand slam after lifting the trophy in 2013 and 2016.

And he revealed afterwards that the heavy downpour, which caused a near three-hour mid-match delay, had meant his children missed seeing him secure his first title on home soil in seven years.

“They didn’t tell me they were coming, then obviously I won the first set and my wife decided to bring (the kids) in case I won,” Murray said.

“They arrived as the rain came and then left as they took the covers off. She messaged me saying, ‘well done, we have just got home, I can’t believe we didn’t stay’.

“So yeah it is obviously nice, I get to go home to them this evening. We are planning on driving to Nottingham tonight so hopefully go home and see them before they go to bed and hopefully get up to Nottingham tonight.”

Novak Djokovic also enjoyed a successful Sunday, moving alone at the pinnacle of men’s tennis by defeating Casper Ruud in straight sets in the French Open final to register his 23rd grand slam singles crown.

Murray was quick to congratulate the Serbian before joking he hoped the three-time Roland Garros champion would now “take his eye off the ball” in the build-up to Wimbledon.

“I’m not saying he makes it look easy but he makes it look a lot more easy than it should,” the Briton said of Djokovic.

“I am happy for him, he deserves it. When he beat me in the final of the (2016) French Open he lost motivation so maybe he can take his eye off the ball for the next few weeks heading into Wimbledon!

“But congratulations to him – it’s an incredible achievement.”

Murray, who said he was planning some “light” practice in Nottingham on Monday, showcased a powerful shot collection to dismantle Rodionov.

The Scot’s serve was a vital weapon on the day and his intricate shot selection left his opponent at times scrambling across the turf in the largely sweltering conditions.

Murray was pleased with his win, but was not resting on his laurels and said he would continue to “strive for more”.

“Winning any tournament is hard,” said the former world number one, who has been plagued by injuries in recent years including hip and abdominal issues.

“The journey of getting back to this point has been tough and I think I played some good tennis at times this week and tennis what will give me a good opportunity, especially if I serve like that against most players and I am excited about that.

“It’s taken a long time to get back to this place and a lot of work with some tough losses, but I’ve kept working and believing.”

He continued: “I didn’t know if I would be playing again, and I am fortunate to be back competing again at a high level.

“I don’t want to downplay this tournament because winning any tournament is great and winning tournaments at any level is not easy, but I still strive for more. I believe there is more in me so hopefully I can achieve that in the next few weeks.”

Earlier, Yanina Wickmayer prevented Katie Swan from securing the British number one spot after coming back from a set down to win 2-6 6-4 7-6 (1) in the women’s final.

In a courtside interview broadcast by the LTA, Swan said: “I feel like it was a high-level match all the way through.

“It was tough because as soon as I dropped my levels slightly she was all over me and I had to maintain that for as long as I could. It was so tough but it was really high level overall.

“She is in unbelievable shape, I don’t know how she can be that good after having a baby. I think it’s incredible what she’s doing.”

Andy Murray is the only British man left in singles at the Lexus Surbiton Trophy after Dan Evans suffered a shock second-round loss.

Evans was the top seed after taking a late wild card following his early French Open defeat but was toppled 7-5 6-2 by 21-year-old Canadian Gabriel Diallo, ranked more than 100 places below him.

It has been a difficult season so far for 33-year-old Evans, who will hope to fare better in Nottingham next week, where he is the defending champion.

There is a lot more home representation in the women’s draw, where Katie Boulter needs one more victory to overtake Emma Raducanu as British number one.

The eighth seed battled to a 3-6 6-3 6-4 victory over countrywoman Sonay Kartal to reach the quarter-finals, where she will face Swiss Viktorija Golubic.

Boulter was joined in the last eight by Isabelle Lacy, Katie Swan and Yuriko Miyazaki.

Sixteen-year-old Lacy was given a walkover by American Sachia Vickery and will play Miyazaki, who defeated compatriot Eden Silva, while Swan was 5-3 up on Oceane Dodin when the Frenchwoman retired.

Harriet Dart was close to joining them but lost a tight tussle 6-4 6-7 (5) 6-4 to top seed and last year’s Wimbledon semi-finalist Tatjana Maria, who next plays Swan.

A visibly frustrated Andy Murray eventually saw off qualifier Bu Yunchaokete to reach the third round of the Surbiton Trophy as he continues his preparations ahead of Wimbledon.

The 36-year old skipped the French Open to focus on his grass-court season and give himself the best preparation for Wimbledon next month.

Murray, a two-time Wimbledon champion, is ranked 43rd and needs to climb around 10 positions to be seeded in SW19.

He increased those chances with a hard-fought 7-6 (1) 6-4 win over Yunchaokete, who is 130 places below Murray in the rankings.

Internet issues on the umpire’s scoring system led to a slight delay in starting the match and it took Murray a while to get going once things got under way.

As with his first round win over Chung Hyeon on Monday, Murray needed little time to hit his stride as he looked to back up his claims that he remains among the top 10 players on his favourite surface.

Chinese qualifier Yunchaokete had beaten Briton Harry Wendelken in the opening round but the step up in class left him at the mercy of Murray.

Two aces saw Murray take the third game and he broke serve in the sixth only to have Yunchaokete break back immediately, with the Briton throwing his racket to the ground in frustration.

Yunchaokete was starting to grow in confidence as he held to love to leave Murray grumbling away at the other end.

Two set points for Murray were not taken and he greeted another error with a cry of “I don’t know what is going on with my game” as the first set headed into a tie-break.

The self-administered pep-talk seemed to work as Murray dominated, this time letting out a roar of joy as he took the first set.

The outbursts of anger continued in the second set with both players still unable to put clear distance between the scores.

Murray would eventually maintain a high enough level to see off the spirited Yuchanokete and advance into the next stage as he aims to go one better than his semi-final place at Surbiton 12 months ago.

Novak Djokovic beat Andy Murray to win the French Open for the first time at Roland Garros on this day in 2016, handing Murray his eighth Grand Slam final loss.

The 3-6 6-1 6-2 6-4 victory meant Djokovic became the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to be the holder of all four titles at the same time.

It was the Serb’s 12th Grand Slam victory and moved him to within five titles of Roger Federer’s record of 17.

For Murray it was the fifth time in those eight losses that he had lost out to Djokovic, with the pair first having met when Murray was just 11.

“It’s a very special moment,” said Djokovic. “Perhaps the biggest of my career.”

He had lost out in the final of the 2015 edition to Stan Wawrinka, despite having overcome Rafael Nadal in the last four.

“To Novak, this is his day,” said Murray, who was the first British man in 79 years to reach the final in Paris before finally going down in the fourth set.

“What he’s achieved the last 12 months is phenomenal, winning all four of the Grand Slams in one year is an amazing achievement and this is something that is so rare in tennis.

“It’s going to take a long time for it to happen again.

“Everyone here is extremely lucky to see it. Me personally, being on the opposite side, it sucks to lose the match but I’m proud to be part of today.”

Sixteen-year-old Mirra Andreeva believes Andy Murray is her lucky charm after she claimed her first senior grand slam victory at the French Open.

The Russian, who only celebrated her birthday last month, has been making rapid strides in the women’s game and brushed aside experienced American Alison Riske-Amritraj 6-2 6-1 at Roland Garros.

That followed a breakthrough week at the Madrid Open when Andreeva reached the fourth round and revealed herself to be a big fan of Murray.

“When you’re here and take a lunch with all these stars, you see Andy Murray, you see his face and he’s so beautiful in life, he is so amazing,” she told Tennis Channel.

“Imagine how good she’s going to be when she gets her eyes fixed,” was Murray’s self-deprecating response.

But the pair have kept in touch and Andreeva said on Tuesday: “I didn’t see Andy Murray since Madrid because he is not here but, after he won a Challenger, I texted him.

“I said, ‘Congratulations’. He actually answered me, so I was really happy about it. He said, ‘Thank you and good luck in Roland Garros’. Maybe that’s why I’m playing that good now.”

Andreeva was runner-up in the girls’ singles at the Australian Open but has had no problem adjusting to life on the women’s tour and, after winning three matches in qualifying in Paris and one in the main draw, she is closing in on a place in the top 100.

“Of course, it feels amazing for me,” said the teenager. “I’m really excited that I managed to win this match after passing the qualis draw. So, of course, I’m really happy, and I’m looking forward to playing the next round.”

Last year’s beaten finalist Coco Gauff looked in trouble at a set down to Spaniard Rebeka Masarova but she responded well to win 3-6 6-1 6-2.

Sixth seed Ons Jabeur suffered a shock first-round exit last year when she was among the title favourites but eased through this time, beating Lucia Bronzetti 6-4 6-1.

The Tunisian said: “Playing on Philippe Chatrier is such a beautiful court, but I don’t have a good history with it. Every first round is very difficult in a grand slam. I was pretty stressed, I’ve got to say, but I was just trying to play my game.”