Wimbledon is fast approaching and as the All-England Club prepares for the third major of the year, the seeding got all the attention on Wednesday as Rafael Nadal was seeded fifth for the tournament behind Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray as well as David Ferrer, who he beat in the French.
According to ESPN.com, Nadal was placed fifth at the tournament and that will set up a possible quarterfinals match against Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic or Andy Murray as the brackets get set. The tournament begins on Monday and the top players in the rankings were placed that way in the tournament, including Nadal, despite the fact that he is coming off his eighth French Open and has been stellar since returning from injury.
Nadal's knee injury is why he seeded lower and his ranking has taken a tumble due to missing most of the second half of last year after losing in the second round at Wimbledon. That was the last time Nadal played tennis before returning this year and he lost that match in a surprise to Luka Rosol. He has come back in a big way this year by winning seven of the nine tournaments he has played in, including the French, and despite winning he fell back in the rankings to five after Ferrer made it to the finals and is now number four.
The Club might have thought about moving Nadal up since his talent far outweighs his ranking, but instead they stuck with the world rankings. The seeding for Wimbledon is done using the ATP rankings and players can have points added for winning grass-court tournaments in the past 12 months, but Nadal was injured so that hurt him as well. Nadal has looked stellar since coming back from his injury and he will be one of the favorites at the major after defeating Novak Djokovic in the semis at Roland Garros.
Things were simpler on the women's side, as Serena Williams continued her dominance and took the number one seed after winning the French Open and she is followed by the regular rankings. Wimbledon seeded her number one, while Victoria Azarenka is at number two. Venus Williams is out of the tournament with a back injury, while Andy Murray will be returning after missing the French for a similar issue.
Federer is at his best on grass and he will try to win again after taking so many in the past, while Murray would like to add another major after winning the US Open last year and the gold at the All-England Club. Murray spoke about the seedings and said that he would be fine to play Nadal if it comes up. Nadal is in a tough spot as he may have to play all three top players to advance and win his third title after taking it in 2008 and 2010. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will be at number six, while Tomas Berdych is in seven and Marin Cilic is 10.
"I'd sign up to be in the quarterfinals against Rafa tomorrow if someone offered me that," Murray said in his column for the BBC website. "You could say if I get through that match, then the semifinal might not be as tough, but if you want to win the biggest tournaments you have to beat the best players in the world.