Wimbledon: recovering Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic included in draw, mix-up among women
- Holder Carlos Alcaraz to face top seed Jannik Sinner in semi-finals while No 1 woman Iga Świątek is in same section as Marketa Vondrousova
Andy Murray will begin Wimbledon against Czech Tomas Machac if he is fit to play in the singles in what is expected to be his swansong at the grass grand slam.
The good news for the Scot and twice winner, who is recovering from back surgery, is that he was drawn on Friday in the opposite half to defending champion Carlos Alcaraz and will therefore start on Tuesday rather than Monday, giving him an extra day to try to recover.
Alcaraz, who is seeded to meet world No 1 Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals in London, opens against qualifier Mark Lajal, while Sinner could face former runner-up Matteo Berrettini in round two.
Sinner starts his campaign against Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann.
Novak Djokovic, who appears to have recovered sufficiently from knee surgery, is the second seed and opens against Czech qualifier Vit Kopriva.
There was embarrassment for tournament referee Denise Parnell, in her first year in the job, during the draw when a mix-up occurred during the placing of the seeds for the women.
After the wrong name was put on the board, confusion occurred over the remaining players, leaving one line blank before the error was corrected.
Some seeded women, such as Mirra Andreeva, Elina Svitolina and Ekaterina Alexandrova, wound up in incorrect spots and were eventually moved into the right places.
Iga Świątek was placed in a tough section of the draw, including a first-round match against Sofia Kenin – a repeat of the French Open final from four years ago.
The Pole is in the same half as Czech defending champion Marketa Vondrousova and former winner Elena Rybakina, with Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff in the bottom half.
Vondrousova, seeded sixth, will open against Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro.
Second seed Gauff will play in an all-American first round tie against Caroline Dolehide while third seed Sabalenka takes on American Emina Bektas.
Some other notable first-round draws in the women’s singles include a clash of grand slam champions as Victoria Azarenka faces Sloane Stephens while British wild card Emma Raducanu is up against Russian 22nd seed Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Former US Open champion Raducanu missed last year’s tournament following surgery on both wrists and one ankle but the Briton will have high hopes this time after showing good form in the build-up.
