Wimbledon: Murray third seed, but Nadal is joker in the pack

Andy Murray has been seeded three for this year's Wimbledon tournament, but Rafa Nadal is the joker in the pack after being ranked just tenth seed, and could face one of the top four as early as the quarter finals.

Murray's possible route to the final will become clearer after the draw on Friday, but he faces a semi-final showdown against either Novak Djokovic, the defending champion and number one seed, or Roger Federer, who is seeded two, 12 years after winning the first of his eight Wimbledon crowns.

Murray won the title in 2013 and many observers he is in better form now than he was then.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

French Open champion Stan Wawrinka is the fourth seed, Kei Nishikori five and Tomas Berdych is seeded sixth.

Nadal was seeded two at last year's tournament "but a lack of form and fitness has seen the Spaniard tumble down the ATP rankings", says the Daily Telegraph.

"Lower down, Murray's conqueror last year Grigor Dimitrov is No 11 seed while the likes of Ivo Karlovic (23), Bernard Tomic (27), Nick Kyrgios (26) and Jack Sock (31) all represent dangerous opponents on grass," adds the paper.

The 2014 champion Petra Kvitova is seeded two in the women's singles, behind Serena Williams, who is hunting a sixth Wimbledon title and a 21st Grand Slam win.

Simona Halep, Maria Sharapova and Caroline Wozniacki make up the rest of the top five.

Murray's brother Jamie is the only other seeded Briton. He and John Peers are the 13th seeds in the men's doubles. Heather Watson, whose ranking has dropped to 64, also misses out on a seeding.

However, there will be plenty of British interest in the first round of competition. Liam Broady, Kyle Edmund, Brydan Klein and James Ward have all been handed wildcards in the men's event, with Naomi Broady, Johanna Konta and Laura Robson, on the comeback trial after 17 months out with a wrist injury, featuring in the women's singles.

Others are hoping to earn a place at the championships through this week's qualifying tournament.