Andy Murray to face Machac in Wimbledon first round if he wins fitness race

Andy Murray has been drawn to start against the world No 38 Czech Tomas Machac in the men’s Wimbledon singles draw if he can prove his fitness in time.

The good news for the Scot is that he was drawn in the opposite half to defending champion Carlos Alcaraz and would therefore start on Tuesday rather than Monday, giving him an extra day to try to recover from back surgery on a spinal cyst.

Murray has already admitted he is more likely to be ready to play in the doubles later in the week and Machac would be no easy prospect, having beaten the world No 2 Novak Djokovic in Geneva in May on clay to reach his first ATP Tour final. Murray, though, was beat the Czech when his form appeared on the up before tearing his ankle ligaments in Miami in March.

The British No 1 Jack Draper, who is seeded at a grand slam for the first time, takes on qualifier Elias Ymer in round one and could meet compatriot Cameron Norrie in round two.

Norrie has been horribly out of form but has a kind first-round draw against Argentinian Facundo Díaz Acosta.

Djokovic, meanwhile, who appears to have recovered sufficiently from knee surgery, is the second seed and opens against the Czech qualifier Vit Kopriva.

Alcaraz, who is seeded to meet the world No 1 Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals, opens against the qualifier Mark Lajal, while Sinner could face former finalist Matteo Berrettini in round two.

In the women’s draw, one of the picks of the opening round sees top seed Iga Swiatek face Sofia Kenin, a repeat of the French Open final from four years ago. The Pole is in the same half as defending champion Marketa Vondrousova and former winner Elena Rybakina, with Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff in the bottom half.

Emma Raducanu also received a tough draw, with her first Wimbledon match for two years – courtesy of a wildcard – due to be against the Russian 22nd seed Ekaterina Alexandrova.

The former US Open champion missed last year’s tournament following surgery on both wrists and one ankle and will have high hopes after showing good form in the build-up.

The British No1 Katie Boulter, seeded at the All England Club for the first time, opens her campaign against former semi-finalist Tatjana Maria and could play compatriot Harriet Dart in the second round.

There was embarrassment, meanwhile, for tournament referee Denise Parnell, in her first year in the job, during the draw when a mix-up occurred during the placing of the seeds. After the wrong name was put on the board, confusion occurred over the remaining players, leaving one line blank before the error was corrected.