- Wimbledon, the season's third Grand Slam, kicks off on Monday June 29
- British No 1 Andy Murray has been handed a tough draw for championship
- Murray could face Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer on route to the final
Andy Murray avoided Novak Djokovic in his half of the Wimbledon draw but was handed plenty to think about before getting to a potential meeting in the final.
The 28 year-old Scot cannot face the world No 1 until then and is slated to face Roger Federer in the last four, and perhaps now world No 10 Rafael Nadal in the quarter finals.
Nadal would first have to get past Murray’s first scheduled top 10 opponent, David Ferrer, and on current form that would be far from certain, but there could certainly be a blockbuster in the last eight. Ferrer takes on British number three James Ward in the first round.
Murray could face Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic on way to title
Murray inspects his hand and discovers and insect during a pre-Wimbledon practice session
Pregnant coach Mauresmo covers her face as Murray deals with his creepy crawly issue
Murray in action during practice at Wimbledon as his coach Mauresmo watches on Wednesday
Djokovic also has much to think about, and has arguably the toughest possible first round in Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber, with Queen’s finalist Kevin Anderson a likely fourth round opponent.
It will be fascinating to see how the Serb rebounds from the crushing disappointment of Roland Garros.
Overall Murray cannot be too fearful about his draw, especially given that he is brimming with confidence.
His first round opponent is Mikhail Kukushkin, the world No 58 from Kazakhstan who shares the distinction with Murray of having a female coach, in his case his wife Anastasia.
The British No 1 practices with Spaniard Rafael Nadal ahead of the tournament at SW19 starting on Monday
Murray’s third round opponent is the neat Italian Andreas Seppi, who made the Halle final last Sunday but probably lacks the firepower to trouble him. Seppi plays British No 4 Brydan Klein in the first round.
Jo Wilfried Tsonga is the theoretical Murray opponent in the fourth round, although that is not as bad as it seems because the Frenchman has been out since the French Open with an abdominal injury and will have some ringrust.
A bigger concern might be if 6 ft 11 ins Croatian Ivo Karlovic comes through that corner of the draw, because he has the serve to blast anyone off the court.
Murray is projected to face Federer in the last four at SW19 in the second week
Defending champion Djokovic is in line to face No 4 seed and French Open winner Stan Wawrinka
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