Murray, Nadal win first round ties as Wimbledon Open begins

World number one Sir Andy Murray has began his Wimbledon title defence with a win over Alexander Bublik in the first round on Monday.

The 30-year-old Scot won the Kazakh 6-1 6-4 6-2 on Centre Court, despite a hip injury which disrupted his build-up.

Murray hit 29 winners and maintained his form either side of a rain break in the third set to win in one hour and 44 minutes.

Murray, who is seeking to claim his fourth Grand Slam title will now face Germany’s Dustin Brown in the second round.

He’s also on a quest to match fellow Briton Fred Perry as a three-time singles champion.

Also on Monday, World number 2, Rafael Nadal, destroyed John Millman 6-1 6-3 6-2 intheir first round clash on Court 1.

Despite some impressive baseline hitting from world No 137 Millman, the underdog was no match for Nadal.

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Nadal is seeking to add a third Wimbledon title to his collection.

Elsewhere, Venus Williams won 7-6 (9-7) 6-4 over Elise Mertens in their first round clash, while former champion, Kvitova got through also after beating Johanna Larsson of Sweden 6-3 6-4 on Centre Court.

The third Grand Slam of the year has begun in earnest, and some real actions are expected to go down at the All England Club.

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