Emma Raducanu to face 22nd seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in first Wimbledon match for two years; Andy Murray handed first-round tie against Czech Republic's Tomas Machac but faces race to be fit for start of Championships, which begin on July 1
Friday 28 June 2024 22:18, UK
Emma Raducanu will face Russian 22nd seed Ekaterina Alexandrova while Andy Murray has been drawn against Czech Tomas Machac in the first round at Wimbledon.
Former US Open champion Raducanu missed last year's tournament following surgery on both wrists and one ankle and will have high hopes after showing good form in the build-up.
Murray faces a first-round tie against Machac, should the 2013 and 2016 champion recover in time to feature in the men's singles after surgery.
The 2013 and 2016 Wimbledon champion had earlier said he would will leave a decision on his participation "as late as possible" as he aims to give himself "the best chance" of making what could be his last appearance at the event after surgery on a spinal cyst.
But because he is in the opposite half to defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, he will have an extra day to recover, with his match to be scheduled on Tuesday rather than Monday.
The All England Club announced on Thursday night that Murray and older brother Jamie had been granted a wildcard entry for men's doubles.
The brothers have been drawn against Australian duo Rinky Hijikata and John Peers in a competition that is due to start after the first round of singles games.
Raducanu has declared herself in a "good spot" for Wimbledon, despite suffering a quarter-final defeat at Eastbourne.
But she faces a tricky opponent, with Alexandrova having reached the fourth round last year.
Elsewhere in the women's draw, British No 1 Katie Boulter, seeded at the All England Club for the first time, opens her campaign against former semi-finalist Tatjana Maria and could play compatriot Harriet Dart in the second round.
Top seed Iga Swiatek faces former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin in a repeat of the 2020 French Open final, and is in the same half of the draw as defending champion Marketa Vondrousova and former winner Elena Rybakina, with Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff in the bottom half.
Dart plays China's Zhuoxuan Bai, Francesca Jones will take on Croatian Petra Martic and Lily Miyazaki will face Germany's Tamara Korpatsch.
British No 1 and 28th seed Jack Draper faces Sweden's Elias Ymer in the first round of the men's singles, and could face compatriot Cameron Norrie in a second-round tie if he navigates his opener against Argentina's Facuna Diaz Acosta.
Reigning champion Alcaraz begins his defence against Estonia's Mark Lajal, top seed Jannik Sinner faces German Yannick Hanfmann, while seven-time champion Novak Djokovic, who appears to have recovered sufficiently from knee surgery, is the second seed and opens against Czech qualifier Vit Kopriva.
Dan Evans, having feared the worst when he injured his knee in a fall at Queen's Club last week, is confident of being fit to take to the court for a first-round clash against 24th seed Alejandro Tabilo.
"The first few days were pretty stressful getting different opinions," said Evans. "I didn't think there was a chance with the first opinion and then got a second opinion from a knee specialist, and he was pretty positive and here I am."
During the draw, there was embarrassment for tournament referee Denise Parnell, in her first year in the job, when a mix-up occurred during the placing of the seeds.
After the wrong name was put on the board, confusion occurred over the remaining players, leaving one line blank before the error was corrected.
Wimbledon 2024 runs from July 1-14.
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