No easy ride for Murray
IF ANDY MURRAY is to make inroads into his first Grand Slam tournament in a year, he is going to have to do it the hard way.
The former world No1, unseeded at the All England Club after 12 months out recovering from hip problems that needed surgery, will face Benoit Paire in the first round on Tuesday.
The Frenchman, ranked No48 in the world, represents a very awkward challenge for Murray in only his fourth game back.
The Scot, who said last week his body would tell him if it was the correct decision to play, practised at Wimbledon for two hours yesterday and then said: “I feel all right – not much different from the last couple of days.
“Am I going to play? I think most likely yes. I will chat to my team and also see in the next couple of days. I will be playing sets and stuff. But most likely yes.
“The thing is I obviously don’t know every single day how things are going to be. I need to play it a little bit by ear. I can’t predict how I am going to feel in two days but if I feel like I do today, I will be playing – providing there are no setbacks.”
Murray beat Paire in straight sets in the fourth round at the All England Club last year, and said: “I guess I could have played one of the top players in the world but at this stage I am at, playing Paire in the first round is tricky for me.
“He is a very, very talented guy. He is awkward to play against. It is a tough first round.”
Murray hit with young Scot Aidan McHugh on Court 14 for part of the session – and his team were told off for falling foul of All England Club rules.
Coach Jamie Delgado and McHugh were both ordered by an official to change their coloured T-shirts to all white to comply with the rules on match courts, and Murray quipped: “Sorry about him. He should know better!”
Paire is a skilful player who came close to beating Roger Federer in Halle last week. Yet, in 2014 Paire declared the grass courts at Wimbledon were bad for his knees and, after losing to Lukas Rosol in the first round, said: “I hate Wimbledon.”
In 2016, he was kicked out of the French Olympic team in Rio for “poor behaviour”.
“It’s unlucky to play Andy in a Wimbledon first round,” he said. “It will be tough. He beat me last year. If he comes on court it’s because he’s 100 per cent. But I had match points against Federer last week, so I know I can beat him.”
If Murray beats Paire, he could face talented young Canadian Denis Shapovalov in the second round, and then the powerful Argentine fifth seed Juan Martin del Potro.
British No1 Kyle Edmund, seeded 21st, will face Australian qualifier Alex Bolt, while Cameron Norrie meets Aljaz Bedene, the former Briton who has reverted to his Slovenian nationality. Liam Broady has a tough task against 2016 finalist and 13th seed Milos Raonic.
Federer, the top seed and favourite, faces Dusan Lajovic in the first round, and has steered clear of Novak Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios in his half of the draw. British women’s No1 Jo Konta will face Russian Natalia Vikhlyantseva, while wild card Naomi Broady got a tough draw against third seed and defending champion Garbine Muguruza.
Harriet Dart meets seventh seed Karolina Pliskova, and Heather Watson will face Kirsten Flipkens.
Serena Williams, handed the 25th seed last week despite taking a year out to have a baby, will face Holland’s Arantxa Rus.