Murray seeded third at Wimbledon

Andy Murray was seeded third yesterday for Wimbledon by the All England Club, the highest ranking that any home player has achieved since Roger Taylor in 1973. He will find out tomorrow when the draw is announced whether that lines him up for a semi-final against champion Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer.

Murray has yet to achieve his ranked status in either of the two grand slam tournaments to date this year, dropping out of the Australian Open in the fourth round by Spaniard Fernando Verdasco and being knocked out of Roland Garros in the quarter finals by Fernando Gonzalez of Chile.

But the young Scot will be going into Wimbledon off the back of his first grass-court victory at the Aegon chmapionships at Queen's last week, and with Nadal possibly suffering from a knee injury Murray could reach the second grand slam final of his career.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
Steve Bierley, the Guardian: "Whether it's Nadal or Federer, it could hardly be more daunting. But having risen to become the third best in the world, something no other home player has managed since the rankings began 36 years ago, Murray is becoming accustomed to the challenge and the mindset involved in life at the top. Taylor reached the semi-finals in 1973, the boycott year, defeating a 17-year-old Bjorn Borg, making his Wimbledon debut, in the quarter-finals, and then losing a match he should have won against Jan Kodes of Czechoslovakia, the eventual champion."

The Times: "There was a strong case for Federer to be named top seed as Wimbledon officials employ a unique seeding system which takes into account previous results at the grasscourt championships and the Swiss has contested the last six finals. But the committee opted to stick to the world rankings with Murray, Novak Djokovic, Juan Martin del Potro and Andy Roddick completing the top six. Russia's Marat Safin was the main beneficiary after being bumped up from his world ranking of 23rd to 15th seed following his unexpected run to the semi-finals 12 months ago."

Charlie Caroe, Daily Telegraph: "Murray, who won the pre-Wimbledon warm-up tournament on the grass at the Queen's Club last week without dropping a set, will be hoping to improve on last year's quarter-final appearance where he lost in straight sets to Nadal. Nadal, whose participation in south-west London is not yet guaranteed following a knee injury that caused him to miss the AEGON Championship at Queen's, is hoping to hold onto his Wimbledon title, after Federer claimed his Roland Garros title last month with a win over Robin Soderling, Nadal's vanquisher, in the Paris final." ·