Novak Djokovic, the top seed, will open his defence of the Wimbledon crown against British teenager Jack Draper as he attempts to draw level with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal on the all-time list of grand slam winners.
A Centre Court audience with Djokovic, who will be seeking a sixth title in SW19, is the toughest introduction to life at the top table that Draper, 19, could have received on his main draw debut. The Briton, a junior Wimbledon finalist three years ago, was awarded a wildcard after beating world No 23 Jannik Sinner and the 39th-ranked Alexander Bublik at Queen’s Club.
Djokovic, who clinched his 19th major at the French Open a fortnight ago, is projected to meet former finalist Kevin Anderson in round two ahead of a possible quarter-final against Andrey Rublev of Russia, the fifth seed. Stefanos Tsitsipas, who held a two-set lead against Djokovic when the pair met in the Roland Garros final, could await in the last four, although the Greek third seed will first have to negotiate a potentially tricky opener against Frances Tiafoe, the talented young American who recently won his first grass court title in Nottingham.
Another British wildcard, Andy Murray, will also face seeded opposition after he was drawn against Nikoloz Basilashvili, the powerful 28th-ranked Georgian who beat Roger Federer en route to the Doha title earlier this year. Now ranked 119th, Murray, the champion in 2013 and 2016, will be making his first appearance at Wimbledon since undergoing hip surgery two years ago.
Federer, meanwhile, finds himself in the opposite half of the draw, where he is projected to meet second seed Daniil Medvedev in the quarter-finals. Should the sixth-seeded Swiss advance, US Open finalist Alexander Zverev could be lying in wait to thwart his tilt at a ninth title. A potentially testing opener match against the flat-hitting Frenchman Adrian Mannarino, the world No 42, will be of more immediate concern to Federer, however, as he looks to get back on track following his early defeat to Felix Auger-Aliassime in Halle.
The men’s draw was hit by another high-profile withdrawal on Thursday when Dominic Thiem, the US Open champion, pulled out with a wrist injury. Thiem, who was forced to retire after sustaining the injury against Mannarino in Mallorca, vowed to do “everything the doctors say in order to recover as quickly as possible”. The absence of the world No 4 follows the withdrawal of Nadal, who said he needed to “recuperate after a long clay-court season”.