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Stan Wawrinka and Grigor Dimitrov the pick of Wimbledon first round matches

Serena Williams will face 107th ranked Dutchwoman Arantxa Rus in women’s draw

The draw for next week’s Wimbledon tournament has been confirmed. Photograph: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Fri Jun 29 2018 - 13:48

Andy Murray will face France's Benoit Paire in the first round of Wimbledon — injury permitting.

Two-time Wimbledon champion Murray will face the world number 48 in the first round at SW19, in a repeat of last year’s fourth-round encounter where Murray won in straight sets.

Murray has won his two meetings against 29-year-old Paire, and will look to continue that dominance as he steps up his comeback after long-term hip trouble.

He had surgery on his right hip in January, only returning to action on June 18th, facing Nick Kyrgios at Queen’s.

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The 31-year-old overcame Stan Wawrinka at Eastbourne on Monday, only to lose in straight sets to fellow Britain Kyle Edmund in the second round on Wednesday.

Murray has yet to confirm his involvement in this year’s tournament and can pull out anytime before the match, scheduled for Tuesday.

His reward for victory over Paire would be a likely second round meeting with Denis Shapovalov, while Juan Martin Del Potro could prove a testing third-round clash.

Defending champion Roger Federer will face Dusan Lajovic, while Rafael Nadal will take on Israel's Dudi Sela.

Fit-again Stan Wawrinka and Grigor Dimitrov have been thrown together in an intriguing match-up, while Novak Djokovic will meet Tennys Sandgren. Nick Kyrgios will face Denis Istomin and Marin Cilic lines up against Yoshihito Nishioka.

Seven-times 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 American, who has played only a handful of matches this year after giving birth last September, is seeded 25th after being bumped up from her world ranking of 183.

It could soon get harder for Williams, though. Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina, the fifth seed, lies in wait as a potential third-round opponent.

Defending women’s champion Garbine Muguruza of Spain will play Briton Naomi Broady in the first round while Venus Williams, runner-up last year, takes on Swede Johanna Larsson.

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