Wimbledon: Final showdown on cards for Djokovic, Murray

Long-standing rivals seeded one and two for tennis’ third major of the year

Djokovic is bidding to win Wimbledon for the fourth time and third year in a row as the Serb chases a rare calendar grand slam. PHOTO: AFP

LONDON:
Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray are on course for a Wimbledon final showdown after being confirmed as the top two seeds for the grass-court grand slam.

World number one Djokovic and second-ranked Murray will be seeded in those positions, All England Club officials announced yesterday, meaning they can’t meet until the final as they will be placed at opposite ends of tomorrow’s draw.

Djokovic is bidding to win Wimbledon for the fourth time and third year in a row as the Serb chases a rare calendar grand slam.

Nadal to miss Wimbledon with wrist injury

Murray is aiming to win his third grand slam title and his first since he beat Djokovic in the 2013 Wimbledon final to become the first British male singles champion at the All England Club for 77 years.

The Scot has lost 13 of his last 15 matches against Djokovic, including this year’s Australian and French Open finals, but he has won their last two meetings on grass and is in fine form after lifting the Queen’s Club title for a record fifth time last week.

Djokovic has defeated Roger Federer in the last two Wimbledon finals and the Swiss legend will be seeded third in his bid for a record eighth Wimbledon title.

Rod Laver wishes Djokovic luck with Grand Slam bid

Federer, a 17-time grand slam winner, hasn’t won a major title since lifting the Wimbledon trophy in 2012 and has endured an injury-plagued year that saw him miss the French Open.


Federer’s compatriot Stan Wawrinka is seeded fourth and Japan’s Kei Nishikori is the fifth seed.

Serena top seed in women’s event

Defending champion Serena Williams will be top seed in the women’s draw as the American looks to equal Steffi Graf’s Open era record by sealing a 22nd grand slam triumph.

Djokovic wins first French Open title

Serena, who has won Wimbledon six times, has failed at the last hurdle in her last two major tournaments, enduring surprise defeats at the Australian and French Open finals this year.

The world number one’s conqueror at Roland Garros, Spain’s Garbine Muguruza, is seeded second with Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska, the 2012 Wimbledon runner-up, named as the third seed.

Seedings at Wimbledon, which starts on Monday, are determined using a combination of a player’s ranking points and their results in grass-court matches.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 23rd, 2016.

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