John Peers and Rinky Hijikata have drawn high-profile British pair Andy and Jamie Murray in the opening round of the Wimbledon 2024 men’s doubles competition.

London, Great Britain, 1 July 2024 | Leigh Rogers

When the Wimbledon 2024 men’s doubles draw was revealed, Australian duo Rinky Hijikata and John Peers were thrilled to discover they would face a pair of high-profile British wildcards in the opening round.

Their opponents are the Murray brothers, 38-year-old Jamie and 37-year-old Andy, who are teaming up at Wimbledon for the first time in their storied careers.

With Andy Murray, one of the most decorated and adored British players in history, likely contesting his final Wimbledon, Peers expects their first-round showdown to snare a prominent spot on the schedule.

“For Rinky and I, we’re just excited to hopefully be able to get on a big court at Wimbledon, which we both know you don’t get many chances to be able to do,” Peers told tennis.com.au.

“Fingers crossed we’re going to get on Court 1, or even Centre Court would be nice. I’ve only been on Centre Court twice in my career and I’ve been on Court 1 a few times which was nice, but to be able to get out there again would be really special.”

> READ: Nine Australians to contest doubles at Wimbledon 2024

Peers, a former world No.2, is unnerved about facing the Murray brothers in front of their home crowd.

“We know there’s not going to be many in our corner, we’ll have our box supporting us and that’s about it,” Peers said.

“But at the end of the day, we play tennis for the challenges and the love of it. We’re going to be able to look back and say we played against the Murrays at Wimbledon, probably against a full British crowd, which will be exciting. It’s going to be great.”

World No.55 Peers once enjoyed a fruitful partnership with Jamie Murray, a former world No.1 and seven-time Grand Slam doubles champion. They were Wimbledon finalists in 2015 and won six ATP doubles titles as a team between 2013 and 2015.

“I know them both very well,” Peers said of his relationship with the Murray brothers. “Jamie and I played together for three years and I got to know Andy really well as well. When you’ve been on tour this long, you become friends with a lot of the guys.”

Although Peers is teaming up with 23-year-old Hijikata for the first time, their association stretches back several years too.

“I’ve been able to help Rinky a little bit and get to know him as he’s come up the ranks,” Peers said of his partner, who is 12 years his junior and also played US college tennis before turning professional.

“He was part of one of the Davis Cup ties (in 2021) as an orange boy helping out the team, so I got to know Rinky then. To be able to get on the same side of the net now is really something special.

“I mean, he won the Aussie Open a couple of years ago (with Jason Kubler in 2023) and has been playing some unbelievable tennis, so it’s going to be really exciting to play together. Rinky and I are pumped and looking forward to the challenge and excitement of it all.”

> READ: Australian men set 39-year Grand Slam-first at Wimbledon 2024

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