Andy Murray to return against Kyrgios at Queen’s Club

Former world No.1 Andy Murray will return to action for the first time in almost a year against Australian Nick Kyrgios at Queen’s Club next week.

The 31-year-old Briton has been out with a hip injury since losing to Sam Querrey in the Wimbledon quarterfinals last July.

After a failed comeback attempt in January, Murray underwent surgery before embarking on a lengthy rehabilitation process.

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The three-time Grand Slam champion practised with fellow Briton Cameron Norrie at Queen’s Club on Friday, before confirming 24 hours later that he would take his place in the draw.

“Obviously I’m looking forward to it,” said Murray. “There are a lot of doubts though as well when you’ve not played for a long time.

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“Coming back from injury you’re always kind of second guessing yourself.

“You never know exactly when you’re going to be ready, but I’m looking forward to getting back out there and competing, and hopefully playing well.”

Murray, a five-time winner at the Wimbledon warm-up event in London, will take on Kyrgios in the first round of the Fever-Tree Championships.

The Scot has won all five of his previous matches against Kyrgios.

“He’s always a tough guy to play against,” added Murray.

“He’s got a brilliant serve and obviously he’s very, very talented. He’s unpredictable as well. The positive is that there probably won’t be loads of long points.

“Points can be quite sharp with him, which is good, but obviously a very tricky match with the way that he plays and how comfortable he is on the grass.”

Argentina’s world No.4 Juan Martin del Potro pulled out ahead of the draw in order to rest for Wimbledon.

Twelve-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic has taken a wildcard and faces a qualifier in round one, before a possible meeting with second seed Grigor Dimitrov.