London: Former world number one Andy Murray has been given a tough opening draw at Wimbledon as he will face Benoit Paire in the first round.
Murray, who has spent over a year out with a hip injury and is currently ranked 156 in the world, was unseeded for Wimbledon and will face Frenchman Paire.
It could have been a harder draw given Murray’s unseeded status but Paire will represent a tricky challenge for the 31-year-old.
Should Murray triumph things won’t get easier with a projected second round match against the talented Denis Shapovalov with Juan Martin del Potro potentially waiting in the third round.
Defending champion and top seed Roger Federer opens up against Dusan Lajovic whilst world number one Rafa Nadal begins against Dudi Sela on the other side of the draw.
Cameron Norrie has been drawn against Alijaz Bedene with Liam Broady given a tough match against Milos Raonic. Jay Clark will face Ernests Gulbis.
Other highlights of the first round include Grigor Dimitrov against former champion Stan Wawrinka and an all-French tie of Richard Gasquet against Gael Monfils.
Another former winner, Novak Djokovic, has been given a tough draw against Australian Open quarter-finalist Tennys Sandgren.
