Murray ready to take centre stage
WIMBLEDON
Date: 22 June - 5 July
Coverage: BBC One, BBC Two, BBC HD, Red Button, website streaming (UK only) and text commentary, 5 Live, 5 Live Sports Extra, BBC iPlayer
| By Piers Newbery at Wimbledon |
 Murray is the highest seed in the top half of the draw |
British number one Andy Murray will begin his Wimbledon campaign against American Robbie Kendrick on Tuesday.
The Scot, seeded three, takes on the world number 76 in the third match on Centre Court at around 1600 BST.
Defending champion Venus Williams opens play on Centre at 1300 BST, with Andy Roddick then facing Jeremy Chardy.
Britons Alex Bogdanovic, Dan Ward, Anne Keothavong, Elena Baltacha and Katie O'Brien are also in singles action on day two of the championships.
ButMurray is the centre of attention as he tries to end the 73-year wait since Fred Perry last lifted the men's singles trophy for Britain.
He has played Kendrick three times before, winning all three including a 6-0 6-0 demolition in their only encounter on grass three years ago.
The Scot was heavily beaten in last year's Wimbledon quarter-finals by eventual champion Rafael Nadal, but the situation has changed dramatically 12 months on.
Murray reached his first Grand Slam final at the US Open last year, has won three Masters Series titles and moved up to three in the world rankings.
Meanwhile, Nadal struggles with knee problems and was forced to withdraw from this year's championships on Friday - but only after he had been placed in the same side of the draw as Murray.
"I feel like I'm better equipped to win a Grand Slam this year than I was last year," said Murray.
"I think I have a chance of winning but I understand how difficult that is to do.
Murray wants hard work to pay off
"It's very easy to say, 'Oh, Rafa's not playing, Andy's got a much easier route to the final.' I don't view it like that at all.
"You just focus on one match at a time and try and win one best-of-five-set match every couple of days and not get ahead of yourself. I feel like I've got a chance but I'll have to play great to do it."
Murray won his first grass-court title at Queen's Club two weeks ago and says he is prepared for the intense spotlight that will be on him should he make it to the latter stages at Wimbledon.
"You can either deal with that stuff or you can't," he said. "I don't get caught up in the whole hype thing, reading all the papers, listening to what everyone else is saying.
"I think I can deal with it, just not letting yourself get distracted is the most important thing. I think I've got the right people around me to stop me from doing that."
 | He is ready - he's beaten everyone there is to beat and on multiple occasions Jamie Murray on Andy |
Jamie Murray believes his brother is ready to land one of the game's biggest prizes.
"He's number three in the world, and now two in the tournament, so whatever tournament he plays he is always going to be one of the favourites to win and Wimbledon's no different," he told BBC Sport.
"I don't see why, if he performs to the level he's capable of, he can't go deep into the tournament and win it, which would be amazing.
"He is ready - he's beaten everyone there is to beat and on multiple occasions. His record in the Slams suggests he knows what to do in the big tournaments and, although there is added pressure at Wimbledon, I'm sure he can do it. And with Nadal absent, his chances have improved."
And Frenchman Gilles Simon, the world number seven, said: "I think Murray can do something very special here but that was also true in last year's US Open and this year's Australian Open, when he came up short, which just shows how tough it is.
"He won Queen's, which shows he's good on grass and has the game to triumph at big tournaments.
"Nadal won Roland Garros the first time he played there so it's never too soon. If he loses it won't be because he's to young or that it's too soon - it's just that there are some very good guys out there."
Fifth seed Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina, who has replaced Nadal at the top of the draw, plays Arnaud Clement in the first match on Court One at 1300 BST, followed by world number one Dinara Safina against Lourdes Dominguez Lino and Juan Carlos Ferrero against Mikhail Youzhny.
Wilccard Bogdanovic will attempt to secure a first ever singles win at Wimbledon at the eighth time of asking but he faces a tough task in the second match on Court Two when he plays 20th seed Tomas Berdych.
British number one Keothavong plays Austria's Patricia Mayr in the second match on Court Four, after compatriot Evans has taken on 12th seed Nikolay Davydenko.
O'Brien feeling calm ahead of first round
O'Brien will open proceedings on Court 14 at 1200 BST against Iveta Benesova, while Baltacha faces Alona Bondarenko at a time to be arranged.
French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, former world number one Jelena Jankovic and former champion Amelie Mauresmo begin their campaigns on Tuesday, along with former champion Lleyton Hewitt, former world number one Marat Safin, and 10th seed Fernando Gonzalez.
