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Sport
Stuart McFarlane

Dunblane trio set to step out at SW19 as wildcard berth secures doubles spot for Ali

A third Dunblane tennis ace is set to grace the courts of SW19 next month after Ali Collins sealed her spot at the All England Club.

The 23-year-old from the town will be hoping to follow in the famous footsteps laid of the Murray brothers – Andy and Jamie.

Ali qualified for the championships via a wildcard entry to compete in the women’s doubles event alongside partner England’s Freya Christie.

She will grace the famous courts alongside the Murrays with the tournament getting underway on Monday, July 3.

Meanwhile, Andy Murray insists that his grass court chances this summer remain high, despite a defeat in the opening round at Queen’s Club this week.

The 36-year-old came into the prestigious event on the back of stellar grass court form, winning both the Surbiton and Nottingham events after turning down the clay courts of the French Open.

Andy Murray was given a wake-up call at Queen's Club (Javier Garcia/REX/Shutterstock)

But his Wimbledon plans – and hopes to pick up a precious seeding for the tournament – hit the buffers after he was seen off 6-3, 6-1 by Australian world number 18 Alex de Minaur.

It means he will likely head into the SW19 showpiece as an unseeded player, putting him at risk of meeting anyone in the first round, including all-conquering world number one Novak Djokovic.

However, despite the defeat, Murray’s spirits remained high and says some rest after a recent gruelling schedule could do him the power of good.

Murray said: “He was a lot better than me. I started quite well but I lost my way a little bit.

“But I believe I am playing at a higher level than I showed today. I know my level is there to compete with the top players. I just need to take a few days’ rest and get a good 10 days’ work in, and I’ll be playing well on the first Monday of Wimbledon.”

Murray – now the world number 46 – will be at the mercy of the Wimbledon draw, which is set to take place on June 30. But Murray believes his expertise on grass can offer him an advantage.

He added: “There are less players that are probably comfortable on the surface than the clay and hard courts.

Jamie Murray and partner Michael Venus fell at the first hurdle (Getty Images for LTA)

“Some of the seeded players are maybe not that comfortable on the grass, so some draws are better than others. There are also guys that are not seeded but love the grass courts and it’s their favourite surface.”

Meanwhile, Andy’s brother Jamie also saw his Wimbledon prep take a hit after he and Michael Venus were knocked out of the men’s doubles in the opening round by the pair of Indian Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden of Australia.

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