Andy Murray ready to blitz Wimbledon from the start

BySportsbeat

Updated 27/06/2015 at 14:43 GMT

Andy Murray admits he will need to hit the ground running at Wimbledon this year after being drawn against world No.58 Mikhail Kukushkin in the first round.

Great Britain's Andy Murray celebrates winning the final

Image credit: Reuters

Murray, the 2013 Wimbledon champion who also claimed London 2012 gold in SW19, has been handed a tough draw for the 2015 Championships.

The world No.3 could potentially face two-time champion Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals, seven-time champion Roger Federer in the semi-finals and world No.1 Novak Djokovic in the final.

But that is all guesswork for the Scotsman whose first order of business is to get past Kukushkin, a man who pushed Nadal to four sets at the tournament last year.

ATP Rome

Are Nadal, Alcaraz, Djokovic playing Italian Open? When does it start?

3 hours ago

Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan hits a return during his men's singles tennis match against Rafael Nadal

Image credit: Reuters

"He's a good player, he's had some big tournaments in the past," Murray said.

"I think he played Rafa (Nadal) pretty close here last year, I think it was five sets, and he can play well on the grass.

"He's a good player. He's plays predominantly from the baseline but he's a good ball striker and if you give him time to dictate the points he's a tough guy to beat."

There are tough draws all round for the Brits, on the men's side James Ward will face No.4 seed David Ferrer, Liam Broady plays Marinko Matosevic and Brydan Klein will meet Italian 25th seed Andreas Seppi.

Great Britain's Aljaz Bedene in action during the second round

Image credit: Reuters

Aljaz Bedene has been drawn against Radek Stepanek and Kyle Edmund will face Nadal's conqueror at Queens earlier this month - Alexandr Dolgopolov.

On the women's side Laura Robson, who has been given a wildcard after 17 months out with a wrist injury, faces Russian Evgeniya Rodina.

British number one Heather Watson could meet Serena Williams in the third round but she will first have to come through a first-round clash against France's Caroline Garcia.

Johanna Konta has a very tough first-round clash against former champion Maria Sharapova while British number three Naomi Broady plays Colombian Mariana Duque-Marino.