Wimbledon draw 2018: Andy Murray handed opening match against Benoit Paire — if he is able to play

Having made his comeback only last week after an 11-month absence with a hip injury, Murray is down to No 156 in the world rankings and therefore unseeded

Andy Murray avoided a seed in the opening round when the draw for Wimbledon was made here on Friday but that was about as good as it got for the former world No 1.

Murray, who has yet to confirm his participation in the tournament but thinks it “most likely” that he will play, was paired with France’s Benoit Paire in the first round. If the 31-year-old Scot is to make further progress his next opponents could be Denis Shapovalov, Juan Martin del Potro and Rafael Nadal.

Having made his comeback only last week after an 11-month absence with a hip injury, Murray is down to No 156 in the world rankings and therefore unseeded at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time since 2006.

The Scot has played three matches on his return – losing to Nick Kyrgios and Kyle Edmund but beating Stan Wawrinka – and has been undecided as to whether he is fit enough to play matches over the best of five sets.

Murray, who is due to play his first match on Tuesday, trained on the practice courts at Aorangi Park on Friday before hitting with the young Scot, Aidan McHugh, on Court 15. He looked in decent shape and sounded reasonably positive about his prospects of making the start line.

"I feel all right, not much different from the last couple of days,” Murray said. “I'll chat to my team this afternoon and also see in the next couple of days.”

Murray said it was “most likely” that he would play but added: “I obviously don't know every single day how things are going to be. I need to play it a little bit by ear. I can't predict how I am going to feel in two days, but if I feel like I do today in a couple of days, I will be playing, provided there are no setbacks."

Paire, ironically enough, was the last player Murray beat before his lengthy break. He already had a pronounced limp when he beat the 29-year-old Frenchman in the fourth round at Wimbledon last summer. Murray went on to lose to Sam Querrey in the quarter-finals.

The unpredictable and unorthodox Paire has plenty of talent. He had two match points against Roger Federer in Halle last week before losing to the Wimbledon champion.

The world No 48 is a controversial figure. Four years ago he said he hated Wimbledon and was happy to have been knocked out of the tournament. He was also kicked out of the French Olympic team at the Rio Olympics two years ago for his off-the-court behaviour.

If Murray finds a way past Paire he would next meet either Shapovalov or Jeremy Chardy. Shapovalov, aged 19, is the youngest player in the world’s top 100, but the world No 26, who is one of the game’s most exciting young talents, might not have it all his own way against Chardy, who has had an excellent grass-court season so far.

Roger Federer is the defending men's singles champion (Getty)

Del Potro, the world No 4, is a potential third-round opponent for Murray, while Nadal could await in the fourth round.

Federer, the No 1 seed, will start on Monday against Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic, who lost to the Swiss in the second round last year. In the fourth round Federer could face Borna Coric, who beat him in the Halle final last weekend. Thereafter the defending champion could face some big servers: Querrey or Kevin Anderson in the quarter-finals and Marin Cilic, last year’s runner-up, in the semi-finals.

Nadal, the No 2 seed, appears to have an easier route through the first four rounds but could then face Del Potro (or Murray) in the quarter-finals and Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals.

Grigor Dimitrov meanwhile faces an intriguing first-round meeting with Stan Wawrinka, who is struggling to find his best form after six months put following knee surgery.

Liam Broady has been handed a tough opening match (PA)

In the third round Novak Djokovic is seeded to face Edmund, who should be confident of winning his first two matches. In the opening round the 23-year-old Briton faces Australia’s Alex Bolt, the world No 105, with either Japan’s Yuichi Sugita (world No 45) or the American Bradley Klahn (world No 170) to face the winner.

Of the other Britons in the men’s singles, Liam Broady was paired with the big-serving Milos Raonic, Cameron Norrie has a winnable meeting with Aljaz Bedene and Jay Clarke faces the unpredictable Ernests Gulbis.

The draw did not do many favours to Britain’s women. Johanna Konta, who reached the semi-finals last year, has a first-round meeting with the 21-year-old Russian Natalia Vikhlyantseva, the world No 106, but thereafter the British No 1 could face some difficult challenges.

Alize Cornet or Dominika Cibulkova, who are both highly experienced, would face Konta next if the Briton reaches the second round, while Belgium’s Elise Mertens, who reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open in January, could meet her in the third. Simona Halep, the world No 1, who lost to Konta in last year’s quarter-finals, is a potential fourth-round opponent.

Garbiñe Muguruza won the women's singles 2017 (Getty)

Heather Watson has a first-round meeting with Belgium’s Kirsten Flipkens, the world No 51, with Jelena Ostapenko a likely second-round opponent, assuming that last year’s French Open champion beats Katy Dunne, one of the British wild cards.

Of the other Britons, Naomi Broady and Harriet Dart face major first-round challenges against Garbine Muguruza, the defending champion, and Karolina Pliskova respectively, while Gabriella Taylor, Katie Boulter and Katie Swan all have chances to register their first Wimbledon main-draw victories.

Taylor faces Eugenie Bouchard, who was runner-up at Wimbledon four years ago but has fallen to No 191 in the world rankings and had to come through qualifying. Boulter meets Paraguay’s Veronica Cepede Royg, the world No 119, while Katie Swan faces Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu, the world No 33, who was won only four matches in her seven appearances at Wimbledon.

Serena Williams, the No 25 seed, faces the Dutchwoman Arantxa Rus, with Elina Svitolina, the world No 5, a potential third-round opponent. Thereafter the seven-times champion could face Madison Keys, Caroline Wozniacki and Sloane Stephens.

Halep, who meets Japan’s Kurumi Nara in the first round, faces a tough task if she is to repeat her recent French Open triumph. The world No 1 could face Maria Sharapova or Petra Kvitova in the quarter-finals and Muguruza or Angelique Kerber in the quarter-finals.