Seven-time champion Roger Federer could face Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon — their earliest meeting in any Grand Slam.
Friday’s draw for the grass-court Grand Slam 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 semifinal.
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.
Nadal and Federer have met in three Wimbledon finals but have never played each other before the semi-finals of any Grand Slam tournament. In 2008, they played one of the greatest finals ever on the London grass, with Nadal prevailing 9-7 in the fifth set to claim his first Wimbledon trophy.
Last year, Federer won his record-tying seventh Wimbledon title by beating Murray in the final. Murray, who later beat Federer for the Olympic gold at Wimbledon, 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 quarterfinals are: Djokovic against no. 7 Tomas Berdych; Ferrer vs 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 over 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.
Nadal has looked unstoppable since his return from injury and the draw is certainly a tough one for Federer, who has recently showed signs of decline but bounced back with a victory in his favourite warm-up for Wimbledon, in Halle, Germany. Four of Federer’s seven wins at Wimbledon came after he lifted the trophy in Halle.
But Nadal is also facing a daunting challenge, with the prospect of having to beat Federer, Murray and Djokovic to claim the title.