Williams given Wimbledon seeding as Murray loses at Eastbourne

Seven-time Wimbledon champion Serena Williams has been seeded 25th at the tournament this year despite a world ranking of 183.

The All England Club referee announced the seedings yesterday after the committee met a day earlier to discuss whether to bump the 36-year-old American up.

Williams, a record 23-time grand slam champion, will be returning to the All England Club for the first time since giving birth to her daughter last September.

She missed the 2017 championships having won the title the year before.

As a result of the decision, world No 32 Dominika Cibulkova will not be seeded.

The Slovakian had said on Tuesday that the possibility of Williams, a seven-time winner at Wimbledon, being seeded was “not fair”.

“I don’t think it’s the right thing to do,” 29-year-old Cibulkova said.

“I think it’s just not fair. I have tried and I should be seeded. If they put her in front of me then I will lose my spot that I am supposed to have.” Wimbledon begins on Monday, with the third major of the tennis season running until July 15.

Andy Murray, another former champion hoping to make an impact at Wimbledon following a lengthy absence, was defeated in the second round of Eastbourne yesterday by the man who claimed his ranking as British No 1.

Kyle Edmund sealed his place in the quarter-finals with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Murray, who returned to competitive tennis at Queen’s last week following a near year-long absence due to a hip injury. Murray, who lost in the first round at Queen’s to Nick Kyrgios, showed encouraging signs in his win at Eastbourne over Stan Wawrinka – another top player making his way back cautiously from injury.

However, he came up short against a fit and firing Edmund, who set the tone with a break of serve in the first game of the match.

After staving off a host of break points the following game, Edmund was largely untroubled by Murray to claim the opening set.

Edmund then raced into a 5-2 lead with two breaks of the Murray serve in the second set, and while the former world No 1 fought back to 4-5, it was too little too late as Edmund closed out the match.

Edmund will take on Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Kukushkin for a place in the semi-finals, after his win over Spain’s David Ferrer.

In another all-British encounter, Cameron Norrie emerged victorious against lucky loser Jay Clarke and will take on Slovakia’s Lukas Lacko in the quarter-finals, after he came from a set down to defeat Argentine Diego Schwartzman.