Andy Murray's fifth Queen's title was perfect preparation for Wimbledon, says Barry Cowan

By Barry Cowan, Tennis Expert & Columnist

Image: Andy Murray marked the return of coach Ivan Lendl with a fifth Queen's title win

After Andy Murray's latest Queen's success, Barry Cowan analysed whether the British No 1 is ready to challenge for another Wimbledon title.

Murray warmed up for the upcoming Grand Slam tournament with a three-set win over Milos Raonic in Sunday's final of the Aegon Championship at Queen's club.

Roger Federer, one of his Wimbledon rivals, suffered a semi-final defeat at the Gerry Weber Open, while defending champion Novak Djokovic opted to rest ahead of his trip to south west London.

We asked Sky Sports expert Cowan to answer five key questions about last week's action...  

How significant was Murray's fifth title win at Queen's?

Image: Murray battled back from a set down to defeat Milos Raonic

Coming into Queen's, Andy Murray had the highs of the French Open and the lows of losing the final. Then he had poor preparation due to the weather, he was not feeling well, and had that rough opening draw against Nicolas Mahut. 

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The way that Andy held it all together and the tennis he played in the final was fantastic. You can make a case that he's going into Wimbledon in the best form that he's ever been in. 

Has Murray prepared perfectly for Wimbledon?

Image: Murray is hoping to repeat his 2013 triumph at this year's Wimbledon

Absolutely. He had enough matches with coach Ivan Lendl alongside him all week. Obviously they could get to know each other again. 

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Not just last week, if you look at how well he played on the clay, he will go into Wimbledon in good form, but also more relaxed. There won't be the same tension when he won the title for the first time in 2013.

Did Ivan Lendl win tactical battle with Raonic's coach John McEnroe?

Image: Lendl linked up again with Murray this month

No, that was nothing to do with Lendl. Where Lendl will help is being on Andy's case every single day. It's going to help him further down the road. He's beaten Raonic twice already, without Lendl in his corner. He's won Queen's before when Lendl wasn't there. 

Where Lendl is going to be a factor is trying to play his very best tennis under the most extreme pressure against the very best. Of course you can look back at when Lendl was with Murray at the US Open final when he beat Novak and also the Wimbledon final, a year later. 

Has Federer's confidence been damaged by defeat?

Image: Federer suffered a surprise loss to Alexander Zverev in Halle

I think Roger can still take positives. If you look at where he was before the start of his grass court campaign at Stuttgart, he was able to play back-to-back weeks and his back held up. 

Did he play top three tennis? At the moment, no. But if he can negotiate the first week at Wimbledon, then there is no reason why he can't be a factor.  

He will find cause for optimism after the last few weeks and I would agree there were positives, but he definitely needs to improve. 

Can Kyle Edmund look back proudly on his week at Queen's?

Yes, I think so. The win against Gilles Simon was very good. Although he didn't beat Murray, he certainly pushed him to be fair. 

He will be hoping for another good week at Nottingham and a favourable draw for Wimbledon. There are always opportunities at Wimbledon if you get the right seed, who is not necessarily that comfortable on grass. Reaching the third round is a real possibility. 

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