Why Roger Federer was seeded No. 1 at Wimbledon in 2018 despite being World No. 2 while Novak Djokovic is 2nd seed in 2023?

Carlos Alcaraz will be the top seed at the upcoming Wimbledon Championships, his first time achieving the honor at the tournament. Four-time defending champion Novak Djokovic will be seeded second.

Alcaraz was the top seed at the French Open earlier this year as well, but the Spaniard's seeding did not make as many waves as it has done now. Many pundits and fans have called for Djokovic to take the top spot instead, pointing out that his status as a seven-time winner should give him the luxury.

The reason such arguments make sense in the case of Wimbledon is that the grasscourt Major has a history of not always going by world ranking for their seeding in the men's draw. Until as recently as 2019 (starting from 2002), seeds were decided based on a special formula that took into account a players' performance on grass the previous two years.

For example, a player who reached the semifinals in 2008 and 2009 would have had a higher seeding at Wimbledon in 2010 compared to one who was ranked higher but exited SW19 in the first round in both years. With grass occupying such a small window on the tennis calendar - just about a month - Wimbledon's decision made sense.

In 2018, for instance, Roger Federer was seeded No. 1 at Wimbledon despite being the World No. 2. Rafael Nadal, the World No. 1 at the time, was relegated to the No. 2 spot. Djokovic, then ranked World No. 17, was the 12th seed. However, the decision was scraped after 2019, with world rankings being given priority for the seeding instead - as is the case at every other Grand Slam.

The 2021 Wimbledon Championships was the first edition to feature the change. World No. 1 at the time, Novak Djokovic was the top seed, and Daniil Medvedev, who hadn't reached the second week of the grasscourt Major before, was given the second seed because of his World No. 2 ranking.

The same was adopted in 2022 as well: Djokovic top seed, Rafael Nadal second seed, Casper Ruud third seed and Stefanos Tsitsipas fourth seed. In 2023, Carlos Alcaraz will take the top spot, followed by Djokovic, Medvedev and Casper Ruud. Tsitsipas, Holger Rune, Andrey Rublev and Jannik Sinner complete the top eight.

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"Doesn't change too much whether I play Wimbledon No. 1 or No. 2" - Carlos Alcaraz on being seeded above Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon

Alcaraz (left) will be the top seed at Wimbledon.

Meanwhile, Carlos Alcaraz himself isn't too concerned about the Wimbledon seedings, as he believes Novak Djokovic will be the favorite regardless of whether he's No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the tournament.

"The chances are not so much. Novak is coming to Wimbledon. Right now I'm feeling better than at the beginning of the week."

"No. 1 before Wimbledon gives you some motivation and extra confidence for me to win Wimbledon. Doesn't change too much whether I play Wimbledon No. 1 or No. 2," Carlos Alcaraz said at the Queen's Club Championships.

While Djokovic did not play any warmup events in the build-up to SW19, Alcaraz participated at the Queen's Club Championships and won his maiden title on grass - a run that secured him the World No. 1 spot ahead of Wimbledon.