Wimbledon men's draw: Murray drawn against Paire, Federer starts defence against Lajovic

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London, June 29: Andy Murray has been drawn against Benoit Paire for a prospective Grand Slam return at Wimbledon, while defending champion Roger Federer will take on Dusan Lajovic in the first round.

Murray made his long-awaited comeback from hip surgery at Queen's Club last week and this week defeated Stan Wawrinka at Eastbourne before losing to Kyle Edmund in straight sets.

A two-time winner at SW19, Murray previously said he would only play at Wimbledon if he felt he could compete properly, having not played a major since losing to Sam Querrey in the quarter-finals of the same event last year.

And as it stands he will take on Frenchman Paire, who lost to Murray in the fourth round last year, as he looks to take another significant step to putting his fitness troubles behind him.

Federer is once again seen as the favourite and is gunning to win Wimbledon for a ninth time. He could have been drawn against Murray but will instead face Lajovic, who has never gone beyond the second round.

Federer did not drop a set last year as he ended a five-year wait for his eighth Wimbledon title, beating Croatia's Marin Cilic in the final to move past the professional era record he shared with American Pete Sampras.

With his Grand Slam haul now at 20 after winning a sixth Australian Open title in January, also against Cilic, the king will take some shifting from his Wimbledon throne when Centre Court opens its doors on Monday.

Having opted to miss the entire claycourt season to spare his knees the battering his medical advisers say is worse on the slippery red dust, Federer's batteries will be fully-charged for Wimbledon and his grasscourt game looks razor-sharp.

He played nine matches in two weeks in Stuttgart and Halle, winning his 18th lawn title in Stuttgart before having his 20-match winning streak on grass ended by Croatian Borna Coric - one of the so-called Next Gen tipped to break the stranglehold that Federer and Rafael Nadal still exert on men's tennis.

While he played down that defeat, it will definitely nag and beneath his ultra-relaxed demeanour in the build-up to the grasscourt major, Federer will know only too well that he will need his A-game to claim a ninth title.

"Being the defending champion always creates pressure," Federer said after his loss to Coric. "I just really need to make sure I play great tennis from the get-go."

(With OPTA/Agency inputs).