Despite currently lying fifth on the world rankings, Murray is seeded third at Wimbledon this year and comes into the tournament off the back of a surprise defeat to Radek Štěpánek of Czech Republic at Queen's Club earlier this month.

That tournament was the first to feature Murray's partnership with new coach and former Wimbledon ladies' singles champion Amélie Mauresmo of France, after he parted ways with Ivan Lendl earlier this year.

Lendl had guided the Scot to his two Grand Slam wins as well as an Olympic gold medal at London 2012.

The 27-year-old has been handed a favourable draw according to most observers, with his first major obstacle expected to come in the form of Australian Open champion Stanislav Wawrinka of Switzerland or Czech number six seed Tomáš Berdych in the quarter-finals.

Murray could meet the man he beat in last year's final, Serbia's Novak Djokovic, at the semi-final stage this year.

Djokovic, the 2011 champion, is bidding to reach his third Wimbledon final and comes into the Championships off the back of a third French Open final defeat to Spain's Rafael Nadal earlier this month.

The number one seed gets his campaign underway against Kazakhstan's Andrey Golubev.

Novak Djokovic will be out to put the disappointment of losing to Murray in last year's final behind him when he gets his campaign underway ©Getty Images



The other half of the men's draw features world number one Nadal and 17-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer of Switzerland.

Nadal's win at Roland Garros was his 14th Grand Slam win and while the Spaniard has traditionally struggled to match his performances on clay and hard courts, on the grass of Wimbledon, he is aiming for his sixth final appearance and third win in south-west London as he closes in on Federer's all-time Grand Slam record.

The number two seed faces Slovakian Martin Klizan in his first round outing.

Number four seed Federer gets his bid for an unprecedented eighth Wimbledon title underway against Italy's Paolo Lorenzi.

Federer's win over Murray in the 2012 Wimbledon final was his last success in a Grand Slam and while the 32-year-old's powers may be on the wane, he can never be discounted on his favoured surface and is sure to have the backing of the Centre Court crowd where he holds legendary status.

With the retirement of last year's champion Marion Bartoli of France, American Serena Williams is the top seed in the women's draw as she chases a sixth Wimbledon crown.

The 32-year-old has had a disappointing year so far in the Grand Slams, going down to a surprise fourth round defeat to Ana Ivanovic of Serbia at the Australian Open, which was followed by an even bigger shock at Roland Garros as the defence of her French Open title was ended by Spain's Garbine Muguruza in the second round.

The 17-time Grand Slam champion takes on compatriot Anna Tatishvili in the opening round this year.

Serena Williams is chasing a sixth Wimbledon crown this year ©Getty Images



Williams' struggles means that the women's competition is more open this year, with Australian and French Open champions Li Na of China and Russia's Maria Sharapova expected to feature heavily in the last week of action.

Na broke her Australian Open duck in Melbourne back in January and the number two seed gets her Wimbledon campaign started against Poland's Paula Kania.

Meanwhile, Sharapova marks 10 years since her maiden Grand Slam victory at Wimbledon in 2004 and while the 27-year-old has failed to really fulfil the early potential that win suggested, she has five major victories to her name.

The Russian's win over Simona Halep in the final of the French Open just over two weeks ago has signalled a return to form for the number five seed who is out against Samantha Murray of Britain in the first round.

Halep's form this year has seen her seeded at number three and she takes on Teliana Pereira of Brazil, while fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland faces a first round match against Romanian Andreea Mitu.

The Wimbledon Championships run from today until July 6.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related Stories
June 2014: Nadal wins ninth French Open title with victory over Djokovic
June 2014: Sharapova beats Halep to win French Open for second time
January 2014: Wawrinka wins maiden Grand Slam as Nadal battles back woes at Australian Open
January 2014: Li Na secures Australian Open title with victory over Cibulkova
July 2013: Murray ends 77 years of British hurt as he wins Wimbledon title