Andy Murray's reign as Queen's champion came to an abrupt end as the world number four suffered a shock 6-3, 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (7/1) defeat to France's Nicolas Mahut, while four-time winner Andy Roddick also bowed out in the second round on Wednesday.
Top seed Murray had won the pre-Wimbledon grass-court event in west London twice in the last three years, beating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in last year's final, but he paid the price for an error-strewn display as former Queen's runner-up Mahut enjoyed one of the best wins of his career. It was the worst possible preparation for Murray ahead of Wimbledon, which starts later this month, and leaves the Scot without a title since his triumph in Brisbane in January.
Murray has been struggling with a back injury for several weeks and was troubled by the problem during his recent run at the French Open, which ended with a defeat against David Ferrer in the quarter-finals. He never looked completely at ease on court on Wednesday.
Mahut, who played his part in the longest match in tennis history against John Isner at Wimbledon in 2010, responded with a pair of sublime winners to break back in the fifth game. Roddick fared no better as France's Edouard Roger-Vasselin clinched a shock 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 victory over the seventh seed. The American has slipped out of the top 30 in the world rankings after an injury-ravaged campaign, but losing to Roger-Vasselin, ranked 67th, on the grass he regards as his favourite surface is a new low.
It was the 29-year-old's 11th defeat in 18 matches this year and raises doubts about his ability to mount a strong challenge at Wimbledon, where he has reached the final three times. "I've certainly played a lot worse this year," Roddick said. "I thought I had a chance there in the third set, and honestly I felt like I was going to take that thing once I turned it. It didn't work out that way." Meanwhile, Taiwan's Lu Yen-Hsun won 6-7 (3/7), 7-6 (8/6), 7-6 (9/7) against Croatian 16th seed Ivo Karlovic. Italy's Simone Bolelli also claimed an impressive scalp as he defeated French fourth seed Gilles Simon 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/2). Spain's Feliciano Lopez, the fifth seed, beat Steve Darcis 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, while sixth seed Marin Cilic demolished Australia's Matthew Ebden 6-2, 6-1.
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