The All England Club is ready for tennis on Monday, as the next major on the schedule is ready to start at Wimbledon and on the men's side the seedings have plenty of excitement, as Rafael Nadal may end up having to face Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic on the way to winning the slam.
Nadal is seeded fifth after missing most of the second half of last year after being defeated in the second round at Wimbledon and after defeating David Ferrer at the French Open for the championship, he ended up as the fifth ranked player in the world behind the rest of the big names. Nadal has been playing fantastic since returning from his knee injury and now he enters Wimbledon with the chance to put his second round loss against Lukas Rosol behind him. Despite the fact that he is seeded fifth, the draw now will have some very interesting matchups, including a possible clash between Nadal and Federer in the quarterfinals.
Andy Murray comes into the tournament with some new confidence after winning his first major at the US Open last year and he also has some good memories after winning the gold medal on the Wimbledon courts during the Olympics. He will try to become the first Brit to win in years and he will have some challenges, as he could face Nadal or Federer in the semifinals, while Djokovic may face Ferrer. The men's side has plenty of intrigue with the top players and others like Juan Martin Del Potro will be back in action after missing the French, as will Murray.
Check Here for the full Wimbledon Seedings and Draws.
The women's side is all about Serena Williams and she is playing some of the best tennis of her career after winning the French Open along with Nadal. She has won three of the last four majors and has gone 74-3 since losing at Roland Garros last year, one of the best streaks of her career. The five time champion at Wimbledon may end up facing Victoria Azarenka or Maria Sharapova, who she got into a slight tiff with over a Rolling Stone story this past week.
Williams is going for the 17th major of her career and her sister Venus will be out of the major after dealing with a back injury. Nadal just set a record by winning his eighth French title and Federer will try to do the same at the All England Club. The two have played against each other three times in the Wimbledon final and have never met in the semis at any Grand Slam and the last time they played Nadal won his first major at the All England Club.
Federer defeated Murray last year before losing to him on the same court in the Olympics final and now Murray will try to become the first British player since Fred Perry to win since 1936. Tomas Berdych and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga may make some noise in the tournament and Nadal will be looking to continue his strong play from this year after going 43-2 on the season since coming back from an injury. Federer played a warmup for Wimbledon while Rafa did not and Nadal is on a 22 match winning streak coming into the major. Djokovic won the tournament two years ago and he will be looking to get back into the top spot at the Club after this major.
Sharapova will try to recover from her French Open loss and she could end up playing Sara Errani in the quarterfinals, while Williams could end up playing against Angelique Kerber. Djokovic will remain number one on the men's side no matter what happens in the tournament.
The SCHEDULE begins on Monday June 24 at 7 AM on ESPN.
