In his first grasscourt tournament since Nick Kyrgios embarrassed him in the fourth round at Wimbledon last year, Rafael Nadal has finally spluttered into life on the grass of Stuttgart and plays in the final on Sunday before heading for Queen’s – where he might meet the young Australian in the quarter-finals.
The draw for the London event on Saturday pitched Kyrgios in against the new French Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka in the first round on Tuesday, so there are challenges everywhere in a draw reduced to 32 players this year, including eight of the top 14 in the ATP rankings.