Preparations continue for Murray at Queen’s

The British No 1 suffered ligament damage in his right ankle during last week’s run to the French Open semi-finals, where he was eventually beaten by Rafael Nadal.

Murray used painkillers to help him progress in Paris and he had been concerned how his ankle would react, particularly with the change from a clay to a grass surface.

But he came through a rigorous two-hour practice yesterday afternoon and will play in the doubles alongside brother Jamie today.

Murray received a first-round bye in the singles draw and will face either Xavier Malisse or Matthias Bachinger tomorrow.

“Playing matches on it didn’t necessarily help too much but it’s definitely better than it was and should be okay,” said Murray, who practised with Ross Hutchins and coach Danny Valiverdu.

Britain’s next big hope, 17-year-old Oliver Golding, made a confident debut on the senior tour before falling 6-3 6-4 to Nicolas Mahut, who will face Fernando Verdasco in the second round.

Golding, who made the semi-finals of Junior Wimbledon last year, was granted a wild card entry at Queen’s and hopes to receive a similar invitation to the qualifiers for Eastbourne and Wimbledon.

“I wasn’t a million miles away from the level that I’ve got to be at,” said Golding.

British No 2 James Ward beat compatriot Dan Cox 6-3 6-1 to book a second-round tie with fourth seed Stanislas Wawrinka.

Spaniard Feliciano Lopez will face Andy Roddick after overcoming Dmitry Tursunov 7-6 6-3.