Andy Murray, Serena Williams form Wimbledon mixed doubles dream team

Set to play his first Grand Slam event since undergoing a resurfacing surgery on his right hip, Andy Murray is not messing around. He's struck up a partnership with 23-time major singles champion Serena Williams.

Murray will team up with Williams in the Wimbledon mixed doubles event, his management confirmed Tuesday. Murray has never won a mixed doubles title, though he joined forces with Laura Robson to capture a silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics, hosted on the lawns of the All England Club.

Williams, the winner of a combined 14 Wimbledon crowns (seven singles, six doubles and one mixed), claimed back-to-back mixed doubles titles with Max Mirnyi in 1998 at Wimbledon and the US Open.

"We're a lot alike on the court," joked Williams in her post-match press conference Tuesday. "I've always liked that about [Andy]. His work ethic is just honestly off the charts. That's something I've always respected about him. His fitness, everything. To do what he's done in an era where there's so many other great male tennis players, so much competition, to rise above it, not many people have done it. He's actually one of the few."

Murray had reached out to a number of players leading up to the grass-court major, including new WTA world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty and current doubles No. 1 Kristina Mladenovic, but was turned down. Upon hearing about his struggles to get a yes, many WTA players campaigned to partner up with the Scot, including Maria Sharapova and Caroline Wozniacki, before Murray finalized arrangements with Williams.

"There's so many things to be admired," Williams said. "Above all, he really stands out, he really speaks up about women's issues no matter what. You can tell he has a really strong woman in his life. I think above all that is just fantastic."

The 32-year-old Murray won the Queen’s Club doubles trophy with Feliciano Lopez in the first event of his comeback two weeks ago. His chances in men’s doubles with former Wimbledon champion Pierre-Hugues Herbert took a hit at the start of the week. The Frenchman revealed signs of trouble with his right quad prior to his first-round defeat to 2018 singles finalist Kevin Anderson.

Murray and Williams will find out their opposition on Wednesday, when the 48-team mixed doubles draw is made. Sixteen seeded teams will receive a bye.