Before his surgery in January, Murray limped and grimaced between points.

But the Scot, who has won the singles title at Queen's five times, has looked sharp on court all week and his body language reveals how much he is enjoying playing again.

Murray said there was "no pain at all" in his hip after the semi-final, although he admitted he was feeling the effects of the three matches he has played.

"My back's a bit stiff," he said. "You're sort of getting down low for a lot of balls and you're always kind of in a crouched-over position in doubles a bit more than when you're in singles.

"I'm not used to that as much, so my back has been a little bit stiff after some of the matches. My arm is a little bit tired from serving and stuff. But my hip's been brilliant so far. I don't feel anything at all. It's amazing."

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Lopez kicks off his service game with a double fault, but top work from Murray at the net gets them back on track.

The Spaniard opens up his racquet and curves a forehand out wide to hold.

Ram finally gets into a rhythm with his serve and holds.

"Sorry Andy," shouts Lopez as he gifts Salisbury with an easy shot at the net.

"Sorry Feli," says Murray as he returns the ball into the net.

Well, they're nothing if not polite. 30-30.

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A double fault from Ram gives Murray and Lopez a chance. 0-30.

Murray's backhand is so fast you can barely see the ball. He holds.

Murray and Lopez are a fearsome sight at the net. They get Ram exactly where they want him and Lopez pops the ball into the open court.

Ram makes sure Murray doesn't hold to love with a backhand return down the line.

"I got," shouts Lopez as he chases down a lob like a man who hasn't already played a couple of hours of tennis today. It's to no avail though as his shot is slammed back at him. 40-30.

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Murray's return is just as brilliant as it always has been. He hits a backhand winner to set up break point, but Salisbury holds his nerve and his serve.

Salisbury's got a big serve and Lopez and Murray position themselves deep behind the baseline.

Lopez flicks a volley out of Ram's reach and it's 30-30.

He looks sharp enough as he puts in a winning serve. Murray is quick at the net on the next point and the pair quickly wrap up the game.

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And it is Lopez who will serve first.

*Denotes next server

That's the warm-up done and dusted.

Feliciano Lopez has already been on court for almost three hours today, winning the singles title earlier, but he's the last player to head back to his seat.

Murray won his last doubles title with brother Jamie in Tokyo eight years ago, but has not announced any plans to team back up with his sibling.

Instead, the former world number one will play with Brazilian Marcelo Melo at Eastbourne next week before partnering France's Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the men's doubles at Wimbledon.

"I ideally would have liked to have played with the same partner every single week," Murray said.

"I have got three brilliant partners, so hopefully we can do OK. But I have to do a few things differently each week."

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While all the attention has been on Murray's return, compatriot Joe Salisbury has flown under the radar and into the final.

The 27-year-old and American Ram claimed a shock 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (10-8) victory against fourth-seeded American brothers Bob and Mike Bryan in their semi-final.

Bob Bryan, who has won 16 men's doubles Grand Slams, returned to tennis at the beginning of this year after having the same hip surgery as Murray in 2018.

Salisbury has three doubles titles to his name, winning the most recent one with Ram in Dubai in March.

The pair also reached the Brisbane International final in January.

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After yesterday's win, Murray said he "didn't expect to be playing in the Queen's final" on his return to tennis.

Murray, 32, and Feliciano Lopez, 37, have dropped only one set and beaten top seeds Robert Farah and Juan Sebastian Cabal en route to the final.

"I didn't have high expectations at all," said two-time Wimbledon singles champion Murray.

"I had a tough, tough draw, playing the top seeds in the first match and I've never played with Feli [Lopez] before.

"I think things have probably got a little bit better maybe with each match as well."

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Salisbury's sister has cut short her holiday in Portugal to make it to the match. Top sibling.

Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury step out on court but the warmest applause is, of course, saved for Andy Murray and Feliciano Lopez.

Let's not forget, Salisbury is playing in front of a home crowd too.

Andrew Castle
BBC Sport tennis commentator

Basically, Murray is exactly what he always was - a complete pain to play against.

There is something special about Andy Murray's tennis and it's been great to see it again.

The big deal is his enthusiasm. He's desperate to be out there and you can see it. I see no reason why he won't come back and play singles.

After a couple of days of rain in London, it's been a bit of a struggle to squeeze all the matches in but we're back on schedule just in time for finals day.

The delays did mean Murray and Lopez had to finish off their quarter-final against Dan Evans and Ken Skupski before their semi-final yesterday.

It didn't slow them down, though, and the unseeded pair beat Henri Kontinen and John Peers in a champions tie-break to make it to the last day.

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Andy Murray gave a tearful news conference at the Australian Open in January and we all thought he'd played his last competitive tennis match.

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He had hip surgery and we still didn't know if he would ever be able to play again.

Image source, Instagram: andymurray

Five months later, he decided to make his return in doubles. Now, he's about to play in the Queen's final.

Incredible.

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