Saturday, November 23, 2024

Wimbledon draw: Andy Murray learns first-round opponent amid SW19 fitness battle

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Andy Murray has been drawn to face Tomas Machac in the first round of the Wimbledon men’s singles.

The 37-year-old Scot’s participation still hangs in the balance after having surgery to remove a spinal cyst last weekend.

Murray has said he will leave it until the last minute to decide whether to play at his home Grand Slam for a final time. His cause has been helped by the fact he is in the bottom half of the draw and hence will not play until Tuesday.

“I’m trying everything I can to play,” Murray said. “I’m practising on court, I’m rehabbing and trying to accelerate this process to give myself a chance.

Fitness battle: Andy Murry remains unsure if he will be able to make one final appearance at Wimbledon (AP)

Fitness battle: Andy Murry remains unsure if he will be able to make one final appearance at Wimbledon (AP)

“I’m going to wait until the last minute and I’ve earned that right to do that. I would say it’s probably more likely that I’m not able to play singles right now. I’m doing rehab 24/7 to try to give myself that opportunity to play there again.”

Should he pull out of the singles, he could still play with brother Jamie in the men’s doubles, with that not getting under way until the latter part of week one.

Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic will test out his knee in a match against Daniil Medvedev in the Giorgio Armani Classic at the Hurlingham Club on Friday.

It will be the first time Djokovic has tested out the injury competitively since undergoing knee surgery and will arguably decide whether he plays at Wimbledon.

Of the other British men in the singles draw, Jack Draper and Cameron Norrie could meet in the second round if they win their respective openers against Elias Ymer and Facundo Diaz Acosta.

Dan Evans faces a seed for his opening match in Alejandro Tabilo. British wildcard Charles Broom will open against Stan Wawrinka and Liam Broady plays Botic van de Zandschulp.

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