Murray to open grass season in Surbiton on Monday

Andy Murray will be making a return to the challenger tour this week in Surbiton to play some grass tennis in what will be his first challenger event since Biella last year.

Murray, who recently hit out at suggestions Wimbledon will be like an exhibition due to the lack of ranking points on offer this summer, will take on an opponent who has won two ATP Challenger titles this year and is ranked number 125 in the world Jurij Rodionov.

It will be the first meeting between the pair and also be the opening match of Murray's grass-court campaign, with his last competitive encounter at the Madrid Open on clay almost four weeks ago. Sunday is the official start day for the Surbiton Trophy, which was not held in 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The main draw begins on Monday, with Murray set to be the third match on centre court. Murray knows the Surbiton courts vry well having lvied not far from there for a very long time now.