Nadal blocking Murray's Wimbledon dream

TENNIS: LONDON, June 18, (AFP) - Andy Murray is likely to have to overcome the might of defending champion Rafael Nadal if he is to achieve his dream of ending Britain's long wait for a men's Wimbledon crown. The tourney starts on Monday.

The fourth-seeded Scot found himself in Nadal's side of the draw here Friday as the line-up for the opening round of the men's singles was confirmed by organisers at Wimbledon.

Second seed Novak Djokovic and six-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer, seeded three, are on course to meet in the semi-finals after being placed in the opposite side of the draw.

Murray opens against Spanish world number 56 Daniel Gimeno-Traver while Nadal faces American Michael Russell.

Federer opens against Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan while Djokovic faces France's Jeremy Chardy. However most interest from Friday's draw surrounded the rematch between American John Isner and France's Nicolas Mahut in a repeat of their marathon 183-game epic at last year's championships.

Isner and Mahut slogged their way into the record books last year when their first round duel became the longest match in tennis history, a gruelling 11-hour and five-minute game over three days.