French Open winner Garbine Muguruza will play Italy’s Camilia Giorgi, who is ranked 68th, in the first round.
Doubles partners Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic and American Bethanie-Mattek Sands will play each other in the singles.
Briton Laura Robson will play 2016 Australian Open winner Angelique Kerber, while Venus Williams will play Donna Vekic of Croatia.
Predicted quarter-finals:
- Serena Williams vs Roberta Vinci. This could be an exciting one. Williams would be the runaway favourite here – but she was at Flushing Meadows and lost, so it’s not over till it’s over!
- Belinda Bencic vs Agnieszka Radwanska
- Simona Halep vs Angelique Kerber
- Venus Williams vs Garbine Muguruza
Simona Halep will play Slovak Anna-Karolina Schmiedlova in the first round!
Alison Riske of the United States will play US Open 2015 finalist Roberta Vinci in the first round!
Caroline Wozniacki vs Svetlana Kuznetsova in the first round! That’s a whopper of a match.
Serena Williams will play a 126th ranked qualifier or a lucky loser. That does not sound lucky for the qualifier!
Predicted quarter-finals – World No 1 Serena Williams could possibly face her US Open nemesis Roberta Vinci! That’ll be a fun one. Agnieszka Radwanska could face Belinda Bencic, while Simona Halep could play Australian Open winner Angelique Kerber.
WOMEN’S DRAW COMMENCES!
And to top off the men’s draw, it’s Andy Murray who will face another Briton – Liam Broady! The 22-year-old is ranked 234th and it’s looking to be a simple draw for the 2013 Wimbledon winner.
Predicted fourth round matches:
Novak Djokovic- David FerrerDavid Goffin – Milos RaonicRoger Federer – Gilles SimonMarin Cilic – Kei Nishikori
Dominic Thiem – Tomas BerdychRoberto Bautista Agut – Stan WawrinkaRichard Gasquet – Jo-Wilfried TsongaNick Kyrgios – Andy Murray
It’s looking like a simple draw for the Scot – he’ll face Broady, Yen Hsun Lu or a qualifier, and then Benoit Paire; so barring any major upsets, he will do well this yerar.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will play Inigo Cervantes in his first round match, while Nick Kyrgios will face Czech Radek Stepanek.
American youngster Taylor Fritz will play Stan Wawrinka in his first round.
Compatriot John Isner, meanwhile, will play compatriot Marcos Baghdatis. Meanwhile, Briton Aljaz Bedene is up in his first round against Frenchman Richard Gasquet.
Fernando Verdasco, who ousted Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open this year, will play Bernard Tomic of Australia.
Teenage sensation Alexander Zverev will play experienced Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu! Zverev beat Roger Federer on grass courts at the semi-finals at Halle last week and has been tipped for great things in the future; but he’s up against a weather-worn player who has signfiicantly more experience!
Kei Nishikori is to play Sam Groth of Australia in the first round!
Dominic Thiem is up against Florian Mayer of Germany, who won at Halle last week with a victory over Alexander Zverev.
And that’s the end of the top half!
Roger Federer will play Guido Pella of Argentina in the first round!
American Jack Sock will play Ernests Gulbis of Latvia in the first round! We won't see a repeat of 2014 or 2015 with Federer and Djokovic in the same half; Stan Wawrinka and Andy Murray will likely face off in the semis.
Novak Djokovic will play 109th ranked Briton James Ward.
The third round will see Feliciano Lopez vs Andy Murray. Lopez won’t be too thrilled with that – Murray has beat him each of the ten times they’ve met on the professional circuit.
AND THEY’VE BEGUN! Andy Murray is in the same half as Stan Wawrinka. Nick Kyrgios is in the final quarter.
With the draws out now, predicted quarters:
Novak Djokovic vs Milos Raonic
Roger Federer vs Kei Nishikori
Richard Gasquet vs Andy Murray
Dominic Thiem vs Stan Wawrinka
Wimbledon, the third Grand Slam on the calendar, will commence on the 27th of June 2016, with the seedings announced earlier this week. Today’s draw announcements will give spectators a realistic look into what to expect from what is considered the most prestigious Grand Slam – and the most highly regarded tournament in tennis. The All-England Tennis Championships have seen a number of players excel over the years, but none more so than Martina Navratilova. The Czech-American ace won nine singles titles here, more than any other tennis player in history – the first of those in 1978, and the last in 1990.
With only 30 minutes until the announcements commence, there is only one word on most Britons’ mind – Brexit. With the country announcing earlier today that it had voted in a referendum to leave the European Union, could Wimbledon and other sporting events take a hit?
Key injury-related withdrawals include former World No. 1s Rafael Nadal and Victoria Azarenka; Nadal has been struggling with a wrist injury that is yet to heal, while Azarenka is suffering from a knee injury.
Among the men, it is Greatest of All Time Roger Federer and his idol Pete Sampras, also a former World No. 1, who hold the most titles at Wimbledon, with seven apiece. Federer, widely considered the greatest to have ever played the game, is also regarded as the best grasscourt player in the sport.
Two-time reigning champion and World No. 1 Novak Djokovic will look to defend his title in 2016; he beat Roger Federer in 2014 and 2015, and in 2011 took victory over Spanish former No. 1 Rafael Nadal.
Six-time Wimbledon champion and reigning World No. 1 Serena Williams, who beat Garbine Muguruza of Spain in the finals last year, will look to tie German ace Steffi Graf for the highest number of Grand Slam titles.
Graf, with 22, still holds the record for any player, male or female, while Williams currently has 21 – 6 each at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open, and three at the French; she has made the finals at both Grand Slams this year so far, but was upset both times – at the Australian Open by Germany’s Angelique Kerber, and at Roland Garros by 2015 Wimbledon rival Garbine Muguruza.
Local hero Andy Murray has won the title at Wimbledon once, beating Novak Djokovic in straight sets to take the 2013 trophy. As a result of that victory, the Scot became the first British man to hold the singles title since Fred Perry in 1936 – and the first Scot in just under 120 years.
Murray, fresh off a victory at the Queen’s Club Championships in London, will go into Wimbledon with good momentum and a positive outlook.
Djokovic’s semi-final at that tournament would go down as the longest semi-final ever contested in the history of Wimbledon. The Serb faced Argentine Juan Martin del Potro in the semifinals, playing him in a close 5-setter that went on for 4 hours and 43 minutes.
Rafael Nadal withdrew from Wimbledon earlier this month with his wrist injury not yet healed; the Spaniard has enjoyed a strong return to form, taking titles in Monte Carlo and Barcelona to cap off an extremely successful clay court season.
Meanwhile, Federer was involved in a surprise loss to German teenager Alexander Zverev at the grass court Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Germany; Zverev would go on to lose the finals to compatriot Florian Mayer.
Several questions arise at this year’s Wimbledon. Key among them: Can Roger Federer take his 18th Grand Slam? Can Serena Williams equal the all-time record? Can Djokovic assert his absolute dominance, or will some of the quickly rising young grasscourt talent pull off a blinder?
Follow the draws live.
