The next major following the French Open starts on Monday, July 24 and Rafael Nadal is facing a tough test with the men's seedings, as he is seeded at number 5 on the All England Club bracket and he could face Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic along the way as he returns after losing last year in the second round.
Nadal is coming back to the tournament on two healthy knees after losing in the second round last year to Lukas Rosol, but since coming back he has been fantastic, winning the French Open and making it to all the finals of the tournaments he has played apart from two. On the women's side, Serena Williams has been playing fantastic all year and is ranked number one heading into the major and she has been 74-3 since Wimbledon last year and she is expected to dominate again. The women's side is top heavy with Maria Sharapova and Williams and it is likely that the two will be there at the end.
Federer is looking for his eighth career Wimbledon victory and Murray also will have some history behind him, as he finally has his first major after winning the US Open and he will be looking to become the first Brit to do it in years. Djokovic, Murray, Nadal and Federer will be the favorites in the tournament as usual and Nadal will be looking forward to putting that loss against Rosol behind him. Williams is 31 and is still the favorite and she could get closer to the all-time slam record with another win.
The money at the tournament for the winners is more than last year and all the top players will be looking crisp in their white uniforms, including Sharapova, who debuted hers online last week. Wimbledon marks the next major after Rafael Nadal won the French Open and while he is seeded fifth after the All-England Club used the ATP rankings for seeding, he still remains one of the favorites to take the major for the third time in his career.
Almost a year after suffering one of the worst defeats of his career to Czech hitman Lukas Rosol, Nadal ventured back into the All England Club this week after claiming another French Open triumph, just as he did 12 months ago. "I was not ready to play here. That's the real thing. I play with an infiltration (painkilling injection) from the first day," Nadal, seeded five this year, told reporters after practising on Saturday.
"Last year I played here because it's a tournament that I love. I tried my best. But after Roland Garros my knee was not there any more. After here I was not able to compete in one more tournament during the rest of the season."
Nadal may have to play all the top players on his way to the finals and he will have a chance to defeat Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Roger Federer to get there. Nadal has been excellent all year since returning from a knee injury and here is where that happened, as he was defeated by Lukas Rosol in the second round, his worst showing there. Now he will have the chance to make up for it and based on the way he has played, he will be hard to beat.
