Andy Murray begins his title quest as Wimbledon 2013 gets underway

Andy Murray will begin his 2013 quest to become Wimbledon men's champion today with a first round match against the German Benjamin Becker (no relation to Boris) on Centre Court.

Murray, who is the number two seed, plays the big serving 32-year-old Becker in the third scheduled match on Centre Court, the highlight of day one for British tennis fans.

Meanwhile the reigning men's champion and seven-time Wimbledon winner Roger Federer (seeded 3) will begin the defence of his title against the Romanian Victor Hanescu, also on Centre Court.

Among the other stars in action on the first day are Belarusian Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova (Russia), the women's number two and three seeds respectively. Former men's champion Rafael Nadal, seeded five, returns after his shock defeat in the second round of the 2012 tournament. He lost to Lukáš Rosol, a player ranked 100th in the world in one of the biggest upsets in Wimbledon history.

Six other Brits are in action today - Elena Baltacha, Johanna Konta, Samantha Murray, Anne Keothavong, James Ward and Kyle Edmund.