Juan Martin del Potro

Murray sees off Del Potro

The world No 1 battled back to win a marathon first set lasting one hour and 25 minutes before triumphing 7-6 (8) 7-5 6-0 on Philippe Chatrier.

He will next face 21st seed John Isner or Russian Karen Khachanov for a place in the quarter-finals.

Murray and Del Potro contested a couple of epic matches in 2016, with the Brit winning in four sets in the Olympic final in Brazil and the Argentine winning over five hours in the Davis Cup semi-finals.

And it looked like another lengthy encounter could be on the cards during an absorbing first set.

Del Potro joins Queen's line-up

The giant Argentine joins world No 1 Andy Murray, 14-time Grand Slam title winner Rafael Nadal and the reigning US Open champion Stan Wawrinka at the event.

"I am so happy to be coming back to the Aegon Championships at Queen's Club," said Del Potro, who won the US Open at Flushing Meadows in 2009 after defeating Roger Federer in five sets.

Juan Martin del Potro claims Stockholm title

Del Potro, who triumphed in the US Open back in 2009, has enjoyed a very welcome renaissance this year, after a series of wrist injuries that pushed him to the brink of retirement.

Having claimed a silver medal at the Rio Olympics and helped Argentina to the Davis Cup final, Del Potro now found himself in a first Tour final since he won in Sydney in January 2014.

And the World No 63 needed just under an hour and 20 minutes to defeat his American opponent, securing the crucial break in the 11th game of the opening set.