 London: Britain`s Andy Murray has been handed a tricky first-round match at Wimbledon against former World No. 3 Nikolay Davydenko of Russia, after the men`s competition was drawn Friday.
Murray is in the same half of the draw as Spain`s Rafael Nadal, who defeated him in the semi-finals at Wimbledon in each of the last two years.
Before the semifinals, Murray can meet seeds including Canada`s Milos Raonic and South Africa`s Kevin Anderson.
The furthest Davydenko, now ranked 47, has gone at Wimbledon is the fourth round in 2007. He trails Murray 4-5 in head-to-heads, although their last meeting was in 2009 and they have never played on grass.
Elsewhere, world No. 1 Novak Djokovic plays former world No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero in the first round, while six-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer has been drawn against 43rd-ranked Albert Ramos.
Former champion Lleyton Hewitt enters the main draw as a wildcard and has a daunting first-round match against world No. 5 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
In the women`s draw, Maria Sharapova takes on Moscow-born Australian Anastasia Rodionova, while reigning champion Petra Kvitova gets Uzbekistan`s Akgul Amanmuradova.
Venus Williams has been drawn against Russian doubles specialist Elena Vesnina, while her sister Serena has a first-round match with Barbora Zahlavova-Strycova of the Czech Republic.
IANS
First Published: Friday, June 22, 2012, 19:11
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