The Williams sisters could square off in the Wimbledon mixed doubles field.
The newly-minuted SerMur dream team of former world No. 1 superstars Serena Williams and Andy Murray may well be the most highly-anticipated mixed doubles pair in Wimbledon history.

They aren't the only former Wimbledon champions in a loaded mixed field that some are calling the toughest mixed doubles field in Wimbledon history.

More: Andy Murray and Serena Williams Will Partner at SW19

Reigning US Open mixed doubles champions Jamie Murray and Bethanie Mattek-Sands and five-time Wimbledon singles champion Venus Williams and Australian Open quarterfinalist Frances Tiafoe are among the other notable teams in the field.

Henri Kontinen and Britain's Heather Watson, the 2016 Wimbledon mixed doubles champion, are another prominent team in a field that features Great Britain's Jay Clarke partnering 15-year-old Coco Gauff, who stunned the 39-year-old Venus Williams in her singles opener. Clarke and Gauff face veteran Robert Lindstedt and 2017 Roland Garros singles champion Jelena Ostapenko. 

Buzz is already building for perhaps the most-highly anticipated mixed tandem since John McEnroe and Steffi Graf joined forces at Wimbledon.

"Yeah, it's brilliant," Watson said. "Doubles I'd say is a completely different sport to singles. It's a very different game. That's why you see so many doubles specialists.

"It's great that (Andy Murray is) playing, in general. That's so positive for the game. I think it will be really exciting to watch him play with Serena."

Milos Raonic suggests anything short of a SerMur title run could be deflating for fans. 

"I think it's one of those things that's either going to turn out incredibly well and be very exciting or it might sort of come up short," Raonic said. "I think people are expecting a lot from the two of them, especially with Andy already winning Queen's, playing well in the doubles matches.

"Serena, I believe, has won all the doubles with her sister and has won I believe most, maybe she's just missing one in the mixed in Australia. But she's won here before in mixed. So I think there is a lot expected of them. I think anything short of them winning, people might feel like they came up short."

While the Andy Murray and Serena Williams team will attract world-wide attention, Jamie Murray and Mattek-Sands, whose also covering Wimbledon as an analyst for ESPN, may well be the team to beat. Jamie Murray partnered Jelena Jankovic to the 2007 Wimbledon mixed title then repeated the feat a decade later joining forces with Hall of Famer Martina Hingis.

"We had good success at the US Open last year," Jamie Murray told British GQ. "In the last two Wimbledons I’ve won it with Martina Hingis and reached the final with Victoria Azarenka, so it’s obviously an event I’ve done well in.

"It’s always fun to play mixed; it’s a bit less stressful than the men’s doubles. But everyone that enters always wants to do well and I’ve been fortunate enough to play with some really good partners in the last couple of years, and again this year."

Asked if he's given brother and sometime doubles partner Andy Murray any advice, Jamie Murray told GQ: "Not really. Sometimes I’ll give him some pointers if I feel that he needs it, but whether he listens or not is a different story."

In January, Tiafoe joined forces with Serena Williams in a high-profile Hopman Cup mixed doubles showdown vs. Switzerland's Roger Federer and Belinda Bencic that gained global attention bringing two of the greatest players of all-time together.

Mixed doubles should have a major spotlight at Wimbledon this month.

Given 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams' quest to equal 24-time major winner Margaret Court's all-time Grand Slam singles record and the fact Andy Murray is partnering Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the men's doubles draw, it's unclear how much time Serena and Andy will have to practice together.

Still, the fact seven-time singles champion Serena and two-time men's champion Andy Murray have combined to claim nine Wimbledon singles crowns should provide the pair a comfort level.

Additionally, given the pair's popularity it is likely their matches will be staged on either Centre Court or Court No. 1, which can be unnerving for opponents who typically play mixed matches on the outer courts.

Tennis Express

Serena Williams won the 1998 Wimbledon mixed crown with the beast of Belarus Max Mirnyi.

Fourteen years later, Mirnyi and Victoria Azarenka defeated Andy Murray and Laura Robson, 2-6, 6-3, 10-8, to capture the Olympic mixed doubles gold medal at the 2012 Olympic tennis tournament staged at Wimbledon. 

Photo credit: Getty

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