Wimbledon 2014 draw: Rafael Nadal could be tested early; Murray and Djokovic in same half

2013 Wimbledon Champion Andy Murray

The draw for this year’s Wimbledon was announced at the All England Club this morning.

Men’s draw:

Novak Djokovic who is seeded No. 1 for the tournament is in the same half as No. 4 seed and defending champion Andy Murray. The other half pits French Open champion Rafael Nadal and 7-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer.

Nadal has got the tougher draw among the top four going into the championships. He faces Slovak Martin Klizan in his opening match, and a possible second round clash against his conqueror in 2012 Lukas Rosol. He could face the big serving Ivo Karlovic in the third round.

The Spaniard has not gone past the second round in his last two attempts here. He is aiming for his third “Channel Slam”, or the French-Wimbledon double to equal Bjorn Borg.

Djokovic will take on Andrey Golubev in his opening round with a possibility of meeting Radek Stepanek in the second round. The Serb had trouble with his wrists as he pulled out of an exhibition match on Thursday. His third round opponent could be Canadian Vasek Popsipil and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the fourth round. The Frenchman faces Jurgen Melzer in his first match, with the winner of Sam Querrey and Bradley Klahn in his second round. The No. 1 seed is looking to repeat his 2011 triumph here.

Murray has a relatively easier draw this year as he opens against Belgium’s David Goffin. The defending champion would then face winner of Pablo Andujar or Blaz Rola. TheScot’s third round opponent could be Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut. Kevin Anderson or Fabio Fognini is likely to be his fourth round opponent. His first test might come against the Queen’s Open champion Grigor Dimitrov.

The Bulgarian is aiming to reach his first Grand Slam semi final. He faces Ryan Harrison in the first round. His second and third round opponents could be Dominic Thiem and Alexandr Dolgopolov respectively. He is slated to meet the Spanish No. 2 David Ferrer in the fourth round.

Ferrer, who withdrew from the Topshelf Open due to illness faces countryman Pablo Carreno Busta in the first round. Winner of Marcos Baghdatis and Dustin Brown, who ousted Nadal at the Halle Open will face Ferrer in the second round. Andreas Seppi could well be his third round opponent.

Federer will open his campaign against Paolo Lorenzi. The 2012 champion could face Julian Benneteau or Gilles Muller in the second round. He might meet Spaniard Marcel Granollers in the third round. The Swiss could potentially meet the 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt in the fourth round. The Australian takes on Michal Przysiezny in the first round and a possible second round clash against last year’s semi finalist Jerzy Janowicz. Federer is aiming for a record 8th Wimbledon title.

An all-Swiss quarter final is on the cards as Federer is expected to meet Australian Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka in the last eight. Wawrinka, who suffered a shock first round exit at the French Open will face Joao Souza in the first round. Dimitry Tursunov could be his third round opponent and the winner of John Isner and Feliciano Lopez are likely to meet him in the fourth round.

Milos Raonic, who reached his first Grand Slam quarter final at Roland Garros this year, takes on Matthew Ebden in his opening match. Kei Nishikori could well be his fourth round opponent. Nishikori will open against Frenchman Kenny De Schepper.

Sixth seed Tomas Berdych has a tricky draw ahead of him. He faces Victor Hanescu in his first round and a potential clash against Bernard Tomic in the second round. Marin Cilic could be his third round opponent, while French Open semi finalist Ernests Gulbis might be his fourth round opponent.

Possible quarterfinal matches:

Novak Djokovic vs Tomas Berdych

Rafael Nadal vs Milos Raonic

Andy Murray vs Grigor Dimitrov/ David Ferrer

Roger Federer vs Stanislas Wawrinka

Women’s draw:

In the women’s competition, No. 1 seed Serena Williams faces fellow American Anna Tatishvili in the first round. A possible fourth round clash against 20-year old Canadian Eugenie Bouchard is on the cards. Bouchard has reached the semi finals at both the majors this year.

Maria Sharapova will be looking to win her second Wimbledon after a terrific win at Roland Garros two weeks ago. She is seeded fifth and could meet Serena in the quarter finals. The Russian opens against Britain’s Samantha Murray.

The No. 2 seed Li Na after a surprise first round exit in Paris will face Paula Kania in the first round. The Australian Open champion could meet Petra Kvitova in the quarter finals.

Simona Halep, the French Open finalist will face Teliana Pereira in the first round. The No. 3 seed could face Jelena Jankovic in the quarter finals.

Victoria Azaranka opens her campaign against Mirjana Lucic Baroni of Croatia. The 2011 champion might face Svetlana Kuznetsova or Agnieska Radwanska in the last eight.

It will be an interesting couple of weeks at SW19 as players battle it out for ultimate glory.