LONDON — Seven-time champion Roger Federer could face arch-rival Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon.
Yesterday’s draw for the grass-court Grand Slam, which begins on Monday, placed the third-seeded Federer and No 5 Nadal in the same half.
Federer is the defending champion at the All England Club, while Nadal is a two-time winner.
Home favourite Andy Murray, who is seeded No 2, is also in the same bottom half and could meet Nadal or Federer in the semi-final.
Top-seeded Novak Djokovic is in the top half and has a much easier path to the final, facing a possible semi-final against No 4 David Ferrer.
Last year, Federer won his record-tying seventh Wimbledon title by beating Murray in the final. Murray, who beat Federer in the Olympic final at the same venue, will be bidding to become the first British player to win the men’s title since Fred Perry in 1936.
The other possible men’s quarter-finals are: Djokovic against No 7 Tomas Berdych; Ferrer versus No 8 Juan Martin Del Potro; and Murray against No 6 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Wimbledon’s seeding order is determined using the ATP rankings and points are added for achievements in grass-court tournaments in the past 12 months.
Nadal, coming off his eighth French Open victory, has been seeded No 5 after being sidelined for about seven months with a left-knee injury following his surprise loss in the second round at Wimbledon last year.
Federer, Nadal and Murray will all play on Monday at Wimbledon. Federer will open the defence of his title against Victor Hanescu of Romania, while Nadal will take on Steve Darcis of Belgium and Murray takes on Benjamin Becker of Germany.
Djokovic will start on Tuesday against Florian Mayer of Germany.
In the women’s draw, five-time champion and top-seeded Serena Williams will open against Mandy Minella of Luxembourg. Second-seeded Victoria Azarenka has a first-round match against Maria Joao Koehler of Portugal. AP
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