Murray in Wimbledon draw, faces Paire in first round

Twice former champion Andy Murray has kept alive his hopes of playing at Wimbledon after being included in Friday’s draw.


The 31-year-old only returned to action last week after almost a year out with the right hip problem that required surgery in Australia in January.

He has played three matches since, losing to Nick Kyrgios at Queen’s Club and fellow Briton Kyle Edmund this week at Eastbourne having taken a wildcard to test his fitness.

Murray, winner of Wimbledon in 2013 and 2016, has said he would only play at next week’s championships if he was certain he could be competitive and face five-set matches.

The Scot is unseeded having slipped to 156th in the rankings and his first test will be against France’s Benoit Paire.
Paire was also Murray’s last opponent at Wimbledon, beating him in the fourth round last year before losing to Sam Querrey in the quarter-finals.

Murray did not play again in 2017 after his Wimbledon exit, pulling out of the US Open at the last minute, and he eventually opted for surgery in January.

Defending champion Roger Federer meanwhile will begin his quest for a record-extending ninth Wimbledon title with a first round clash against Serbian world number 57 Dusan Lajovic.

The 36-year-old Swiss, seeded one, has been placed in the same half of the draw as in-form Croatian third seed Marin Cilic who he beat in last year’s final.


Seven-time women’s champion Serena Williams was handed a comfortable-looking first-round draw after being paired with 107th ranked Dutchwoman Arantxa Rus.

The 36-year-old, who has played only a handful of matches this year after giving birth last September, is seeded 25th after being bumped up from a current world ranking of 183.

Defending women’s champion Garbine Muguruza of Spain will play Briton Naomi Broady in the first round.
Men’s second seed Rafael Nadal, champion in 2008 and 2010, starts against Israel’s Dudi Sela while three-time champion Novak Djokovic faces American Tennys Sandgren.

The biggest match of the men’s first round will see sixth seed Grigor Dimitrov face three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka who like Murray is unseeded after an injury break.

Women’s top seed Simona Halep will play Japan’s Kurumi Nara in the first round.

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