Murray expects to be fit for Wimbledon start

Andy Murray says he will “most likely” be fit for his firstround match at Wimbledon on Tuesday.

The two-time champion has had just three matches since his return from longterm hip trouble, and has been battling to reach full sharpness in time for the tournament.

The 31-year-old will face France’s Benoit Paire in the first round at SW19, a repeat of the fourth-round tie he won in straight sets last year.

Murray had surgery on his right hip in January and only returned to action on June 18, when he lost to Nick Kyrgios.

“I feel alright, not much different to how I felt two days ago really,” Murray said. “I’ll chat to my team and also see a bit how the next two days go.

“I’m playing sets and stuff and most likely, yeah, I’ll play.

“The thing is I obviously don’t know every single day how things will be. I need to play it a little bit by ear.

“I can’t predict how I’m going to feel in two days. But if I feel like I do today in a couple of days, I’ll be playing.”

Murray overcame Stan Wawrinka at Eastbourne on Monday, only to lose in straight sets to fellow Briton Kyle Edmund in Wednesday’s secondround clash.

Murray’s 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.

“Obviously I could have played one of the top players in the world,” said Murray, unseeded this year after his protracted injury absence.

“But, at this stage where I’m at in the first round, it’s tricky for me. He’s a very talented guy, I played him last year. So he’s tough to play.”

Edmund will face Australia’s Alex Bolt in the first round, with 12-time major champion Novak Djokovic lying in wait.

Johanna Konta will face Russia’s Natalia Vikhlyantseva in the women’s singles.