Wimbledon Championships
Venue: All England Club, London Date: 21 June - 4 July
Coverage: Live on BBC One and Two, HD, Red Button, BBC Sport website (UK only), Radio 5 live, 5 live sports extra; live text commentary online and on mobile phones.
Full details of BBC coverage
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By Piers Newbery
BBC Sport at Wimbledon |
Andy Murray hopes to rediscover the form that took him to a Grand Slam final at the start of the year when he begins his Wimbledon bid on Tuesday.
Murray takes on Czech Jan Hajek, the world number 90, in the second match on Court One at around 1500 BST.
World number one Rafael Nadal and reigning women's champion Serena Williams are also in action on day two.
And Britons Jamie Baker, Anne Keothavong and Heather Watson will be looking to reach round two.
The home nation's hopes of seeing an end to the 74-year wait for a successor to Fred Perry as men's singles champion again rest with fourth seed Murray.
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I'm here to win Wimbledon like the other 127 people in the draw. That's kind of how I look at it
Serena Williams
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He made the semi-finals last year before losing to Andy Roddick and reached his second Grand Slam final at the Australian Open in January, but lost confidence and form after that defeat by Roger Federer.
The Scot has admitted that losing in Melbourne took its toll on him and his results dipped in the months that followed, with his last two tournaments ending in a disappointing defeat in the fourth round of the French Open and an early exit at Queen's Club.
However, a week of intense training at the All England Club has left Murray confident that his best game is not far away.
"The last few months haven't been particularly good but I think the improvements I made were sort of shown at the Australian Open this year," he said.
"You don't make improvements over two weeks. It does take time to put them into your game. I feel like I became a better player.
Preview - Andy Murray at SW19
"I got stronger, started serving harder and more often, I was hitting the ball harder more consistently, was playing better up at the net. That's something that, after the Australian Open, I got away from a little bit, something that I'll look to do better here."
And despite the expectation that he carries as Britain waits for a successor to Perry, the 23-year-old insists he looks forward to the Wimbledon fortnight.
"I enjoy it," he said. "It's great. Best two weeks of the year, for sure, from the atmosphere on court to just being at home. When you're playing a tournament when you're staying at home, it does make a huge, huge difference.
"It's nice to be able to relax and go home and spend time with your family and friends. For me, that makes it a lot easier."
Murray has never played Hajek before and the 26-year-old Czech is far happier on clay than grass, having lost in the first round on his only previous appearance at Wimbledon in 2007.
Tenth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and American Robert Kendrick open play on Court One at 1300 BST, with Caroline Wozniacki and Tathiana Garbin following Murray's match.
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606: DEBATE
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Nadal returns to Wimbledon for the first time since winning the title in a magnificent final against Federer two years ago, with the Spaniard unable to defend his title because of injury 12 months ago.
Fresh from winning his seventh Grand Slam title at the French Open earlier this month, Nadal will face Japan's talented Kei Nishikori in the second match on Centre Court.
"When I won here it was like all the work I did to play well, to be a more complete player and to play well on the surfaces - I did it," said Nadal.
"And I won on the most difficult surface, probably the most important tournament in the world, so it was very important for me."
Serena Williams begins the defence of her title against Portugal's Michelle Larcher de Brito in the opening match on Centre Court at 1300 BST.
"I don't feel pressure," said top seed Williams. "I'm here to win Wimbledon like the other 127 people in the draw. That's kind of how I look at it.
"Whether I come out with a win or whether I don't, it's just an opportunity for me to be here. I'm excited to play here."
Sixth seed Robin Soderling and Robby Ginepri complete Tuesday's schedule on Centre Court, while Maria Sharapova is among those in action on Court Two.
Keothavong will try to become the first Briton into the second round when she plays Anastasia Rodionova in the opening match on Court 12 at 1200 BST, with Baker - the only British man in the draw aside from fellow Scot Murray - playing in the second match on that court against Germany's Andreas Beck.
Watson, the 18-year-old US Open junior champion, makes her main draw debut against Italy's Romina Sarina Oprandi in the third match on Court 18.
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