Like fellow Briton Emma Raducanu and so many of the other top players heading for SW19, including history-hunting Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams, the two-time champion is heading into the third Grand Slam of the year after a recent injury battle.
Murray did a brilliant job of reaching the final of the Stuttgart Open earlier this month, beating the likes of Stefanos Tsitsipas and Nick Kyrgios, but suffered a stomach problem during his defeat to Matteo Berrettini that hampered his serve.
The 35-year-old was forced to withdraw from Queen’s and has seen his Wimbledon preparations seriously disrupted, although he appears poised to compete as things stand.
Unplaced as the world’s number 51, Murray got a stroke of luck when he dodged the big guns early in Friday’s draw and was instead paired up with Duckworth, the 77th-ranked Australian who struggled for poor form this year and failed to make it. managed to win a top prize. draw in 2022 so far.
Duckworth didn’t escape the first round at the Australian Open or the French Open, losing to Briton Paul Jubb at Queen’s before being defeated by Lorenzo Sonego in Eastbourne.
Date and time Murray vs Duckworth
Murray vs Duckworth is the third game to be on Center Court this afternoon, following the completion of defending champion Novak Djokovic’s opening game against Kwon Soon-woo – which started at 1:30 PM BST – and the encounter of British No1 Emma Raducanu with Alison Van Uytvanck.
How to watch Murray vs Duckworth
TV channels: On Monday, BBC coverage at Wimbledon starts at 11am on the Red Button, and the BBC One program starts at 1:45pm.
live stream: TV license payers will also be able to stream all the tennis action live online for the next two weeks via the BBC iPlayer, the BBC Sport website and app.
Andy Murray has battled a stomach injury ahead of his latest Wimbledon campaign
† REUTERSlive blog: You can also follow all the action as it happens with Standard Sport’s live blog run by Matt Verri at Wimbledon.
Head to head (h2h) history and results
Murray has won both previous encounters between these two players.
The first was a four-set win on his Grand Slam return at the 2018 US Open, while also beating the Australian 6-3 6-4 at the 2019 Brisbane International in his four-month match.
Murray vs Duckworth Prediction
Like Raducanu, there are ongoing concerns about Murray, who is unlikely to be in the best physical shape this week.
But if his body holds up, and with coach Ivan Lendl back in his corner, the three-time Grand Slam champion will appreciate his chances of a decent run at SW19 this year after a favorable-looking draw.
Duckworth has the potential to cause trouble but his form this year has been abysmal so far and he is waiting for his first non-qualifying win of 2022.
It shouldn’t come here. Murray to win, possibly in straight sets.