Chaos erupted due to an embarrassing and protracted technical blunder during the Wimbledon women’s singles draw this morning.
Beatriz Haddad Maia’s name was called but Mirra Andreeva appeared in the digital board displaying the draw. It caused a knock-on effect and took several minutes to untangle.
That came before Andy Murray found out his fate, as he was drawn against Tomas Machac.
It could be his last singles match at the All England Club – if he is fit to make the starting line. The 37-year-old is fighting to recover from surgery to remove a spinal cyst, and admits it is more likely he will not be fit for the singles.
However, he he will be pleased to have been drawn in the opposite half to defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, meaning he will start his campaign on Tuesday rather than Monday and have an extra day to recover.
Chaos descended at the Wimbledon draw this morning as Mirra Andreeva was drawn twice
Andy Murray has been drawn against Tomas Machac in the Wimbledon men’s singles first round
It could have been worse but Machac represents a tough draw and revives grim memories
Murray is fighting back from back surgery for a spinal cyst, which he had on Saturday
The matchup against Machac will bring back grim memories for Murray – he was beating the Czech and playing extremely well in Miami in March before an ankle injury ruined his chances; he has barely been fit since. It could certainly have been worse but Machac is a tough draw.
No28 seed Jack Draper starts against Elias Ymer of Switzerland. Draper could play Cam Norrie – the man he usurped as British No1, who begins against Argentine Facundo Diaz Acosta – in the second round. The winner of that could play French Open finalist Alexander Zverev in the third round.
Alcaraz starts against qualifier Mark Layal, and is due to face world No1 Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals. That means No2 seed Novak Djokovic cannot meet either of those young superstars until the final.
There is trouble early on for Sinner, who could face unseeded former finalist Matteo Berrettini in the second round.
Only last week he pulled out of his second-round clash with Jordan Thompson at Queen’s after nerve pain caused by a spinal cyst immobilised his right leg.
Meanwhile, Emma Raducanu will begin her Wimbledon campaign against Russian No22 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in a women’s singles draw that none of the British contingent should be too unhappy with.
The 29-year-old Alexandrova reached the fourth round last year, but there were certainly tougher draws for an unseeded player and Raducanu looks to be in an open section of the draw.
Katie Boulter, the No32 seed, starts against 2018 quarter-finalist Tatjana Maria, of Germany and faces the prospect of a third-round clash with No5 seed Jessica Pegula.
Emma Raducanu has been handed a challenging first-round single’s match against Ekaterina Alexandrova, the 22nd seed
Katie Boulter, the 32nd seed, will face 2018 quarter-finalist Tatjana Maria
Number 28 seed Jack Draper plays against Elias Ymer of Switzerland and could play Cameron Norrie in the second round
Norrie, who was usurped as British No 1 by Draper, will take on Argentine Facundo Diaz Acosta
Wildcard Heather Watson plays Belgian world No85 Greet Minnen, Harriet Dart takes on qualifier Bai Zhuoxuan and Fran Jones, another wildcard, plays Croatian Petra Martic.
Qualifier Sonay Kartal plays No29 seed Sorana Cirstea, of Romania and wildcard Lily Miyazaki plays Tamara Korpatsch, the world No75, of Germany.
It marks an historic Wimbledon for British tennis as this could be the last time we see Murray at SW19.
Murray had back surgery on Saturday and was initially told he would be out for six to 12 weeks with no chance of competing on his beloved green turf.
He claimed to be doing rehab ’24/7′ in a bid to regain his fitness ahead of what looks like his final summer in elite tennis, with the Paris Olympics seen as a ‘fitting’ endgame.