Reigning Wimbledon Champion Rafael Nadal has been named top seed for the grass court showpiece which begins on June 22.
Although many expected this to be the case, Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam Tournament in which the seedings are not allotted based purely on World Rankings, as past performance on grass, from the last two year’s is also taken into consideration. Five times Wimbledon hero Roger Federer heads the other half of the draw as No.2 seed, with the ever improving Andy Murray given the No.3 seed.
With Rafael Nadal’s participation in this year’s event in some doubt, his potential withdrawal could open up a clear path for Andy Murray to reach the final, although the Scot has himself admitted that he is hoping that the Spaniard is fit to compete. The rest of the top seedings in the men’s draw follow the current ATP Rankings, with Novak Djokovic, Juan Martin Del Potro and Andy Roddick filling up the top six respectively.
The women’s top 16 seedings have stuck closely to the WTA Rankings, meaning that Dinara Safina has been allotted top seed, despite having never progressed past the third round at SW19. 2004 Wimbledon Champion Maria Sharapova, has interestingly been handed No.24 seed, despite her World Ranking being 59. The draw for the Wimbledon Championships will take place on June 19, three days before the tournament commences.