No Englishmen to contest Wimbledon men’s singles

For the first time in the history of Wimbledon the hopes of the English will lie squarely on the shoulders of a Scotsman after all four domestic tennis hopes failed to make it into the first round of the tournament.

Alex Bogdanovic, Daniel Evans and Josh Goodall were knocked out in qualifying and James Ward has been denied a wildcard entry, meaning that Andy Murray and fellow Scot Jamie Baker, who was given his wildcard last week, will be the sole Brits in the men's draw.

Alex Bogdanovic, the British number two, had been given a wildcard into the tournament for eight successive years, but on each occasion had failed to make it past the first round. And after his exit in 2009 he said it would be "fair enough" if he did not get a pass this time round - and so it has transpired.

The organisers have instead chosen to give Baker, the world number 259, the chance to emulate his compatriot Murray, who will be seeded four at this year's event, which starts on Monday.

Roger Federer has been given top seeding in the men's draw, despite losing his world number one status to Rafael Nadal and losing only his second match on grass in seven years last week. Nadal, as usual, is seeded two. Third is Serb Novak Djokovic one ahead of Murray, who will be hoping to kick-start what has been a disappointing year since his final appearance at the Australian Open.

There is no shortage of home grown talent in the ladies' draw where Elena Baltacha and Anne Keothavong are the highest ranked Brits. Baltacha is within sight of the top 50 and will be hoping for a strong run. Katie O'Brien, Mel South and Heather Watson have all been handed wild cards - but all eyes will be on Laura Robson, the former Wimbledon junior champion of whom great things are expected.

On paper she stands little chance, but the promise she has shown and the controversy she caused by labelling some of the other girls on the tour "sluts" in a  recent interview with Vogue will make sure the 16-year-old comes second only to Andy Murray in the media spotlight. ·