The Queen’s Club ATP 500 tournament has suffered a triple blow as three big-name players have withdrawn, but their absence is good news for Novak Djokovic and Jack Draper in their bid to be seeded fourth at Wimbledon.
2024 finalists Tommy Paul and Lorenzo Musetti will not return to the grass-court tournament this with two-time former champion Matteo Berrettini also withdrawing.
American Paul won the biggest title of his career last year when he defeated Musetti in straight sets in the final while Berrettini lifted back-to-back trophies in 2021 and 2022.
But the trio will be absent when the main draw is made on Saturday with defending champion Paul confirming he is struggling with an injury.
“I’m crushed I will not play Queen’s next week. I sadly am still recovering from my abdominal strain and need some more time to get fully fit. I look forward to getting back on the grass,” he wrote on Instagram.
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Musetti was one of the form players during the grass-court season as he finished runner-up to Carlos Alcaraz at the Monte Carlo Masters and also made the semi-finals at the Madrid Open, Italian Open and Roland Garros.
But his French Open last-four match against Alcaraz was cut short by a thigh injury and now that same problem has forced him out of the Queen’s Club tournament.
Berrettini, meanwhile, missed Roland Garros due to a right oblique injury.
ATP Rankings implications
Musetti’s inability to play will have an impact on the ATP Rankings positions and Wimbledon seedings.
The Italian is currently ranked seventh in the Live Rankings with Paul sitting one place below them, but Musetti was in with a chance of being seeded fourth at Wimbledon.
Djokovic has moved up to fourth place in the live standings as he doesn’t have any points to defend ahead of the grass Grand Slam as he sits on 4,630 points with Draper on 4,550, Taylor Fritz on 4,535, Musetti on 4,470 and Paul a distant eighth with 3,470.
Musetti won’t play the week after Queen’s Club so he is out of the running to be seeded fourth while Draper has 100 points to defend from 2024 before he can add to his current rankings tally.
Fritz now appears to be the man to beat as he is currently in action at the Stuttgart Open while he will also play in London next week where he will only drop 100 points.
The top-three seeds for Wimbledon have already been confirmed Jannik Sinner the No 1 seed for the second consecutive year and he will be followed by defending champion Carlos Alcaraz will Alexander Zverev third.
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