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Andy Murray: When is the Scot's opening doubles match at Wimbledon and who will he partner in the mixed?

The Scot returned from a five-month injury lay-off last month to win the men’s doubles title at Queen’s Club

Samuel Lovett
Wednesday 03 July 2019 13:35 BST
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Wimbledon Championships in numbers

After missing out on Wimbledon last year due to his injury struggles, Andy Murray is back in business at SW19.

The Scot returned from a five-month injury lay-off last month to win the men’s doubles title at Queen’s Club with Feliciano Lopez and is entered with Pierre-Hugues Herbert at SW19.

The 32-year-old, twice a men’s singles champion at Wimbledon, also plans to play mixed as he continues his recovery from hip-resurfacing surgery in February. He won’t be playing in the singles, however.

When is Andy Murray’s opening doubles match?

Partnered with France’s Herbert, Murray takes to court on Thursday 4 July to face Marius Copil and Ugo Humbert.

What court will he be on?

Safety concerns mean Murray’s opening doubles match at Wimbledon is likely to be scheduled on either Centre Court or Court One.

Organisers are concerned about the difficulty of getting such a high-profile player through the crowds to a more distant court, such as Court Two, safely.

Chief executive Richard Lewis said: “One of the major considerations for Andy, I think first match in particular, is safety. That restricts the number of courts he can be on. Obviously Centre and One are easy. I think once you get beyond Centre and One, it’s more problematic.”

Who will he partner in the mixed doubles?

Murray has expressed his interest in partnering with Serena Williams in the mixed doubles at Wimbledon this year, praising the 23-time Grand Slam champion as “arguably the best player ever”.

He was turned down by new women’s world No 1 Ashleigh Barty but the 37-year-old Williams, who will be aiming for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam singles title here, left the door open for a possible approach.

“I’m available. I’m feeling better now, so I’m definitely available,” Williams, whose playing time this year has been restricted to five tournaments because of knee issues, told reporters when asked whether would like to play with Murray.

Will the two former champions line up alongside one another in the mixed doubles? (Getty)

Murray has said that the two would make for a “solid partnership” — but also added that he ideally wants to play with somebody who can give the doubles their full commitment.

“If I’m going to play mixed, which is the plan, you obviously want to be playing with someone who’s going to be there for the whole event, and they’re in it to try to win matches and win the event,” he said.

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