Rafael Nadal's Incredibly Difficult Draw Is Biggest Wimbledon Hurdle

Even though Rafael Nadal won his eighth French Open title earlier in the month, he dropped to No. 5 in the rankings. By falling behind countryman David Ferrer, the Spanish superstar now faces a very challenging road as he seeks his third Wimbledon triumph.

Assuming the seeds hold—and in the era of the Big Four, they have a tendency of doing exactly that—Nadal would be forced to face Roger Federer in the quarterfinals, Andy Murray in the semifinals and Novak Djokovic in the finals.

Quite simply, it doesn't get any tougher than that.

Federer is a 17-time major champion who has conquered the grass courts of the All England Club seven times. While his form has undoubtedly dipped over the past few years, this is the one tournament where it wouldn't be a surprise to see him elevate his game.

Murray finally got the Grand Slam monkey off his back by winning the U.S. Open last year. The Scot should be well-rested after skipping the French Open due to a back injury. Furthermore, he appeared ready for a deep Wimbledon run as he claimed the Queen's Club title.

And should Nadal survive both of those likely challenges, there's a good chance Djokovic would be waiting for him in the final after navigating the easier half of the draw. The world's top-ranked player has one Wimbledon trophy from 2011.

Beating any one of those players is a tough feat. Knocking off two in a row is usually good enough to win a Grand Slam tournament. But scoring victories over all three, in five-set matches, would be one of the greatest feats of Nadal's career should the draw play out that way.

Normally, the biggest questions surrounding Nadal heading into a major revolve around his health. More specifically, his balky knees that caused him to miss the second half of last season and the early portion of 2013.

Nadal's run to the French Open title alleviated most of those concerns. Although it took him some time to start playing like the dominant clay-court player fans expect, he rounded into form en route to his latest major championship.

So, with his health no longer making headlines, the difficult draw has taken center stage. The daunting journey he faces, which is scheduled to begin against Steve Darcis in the opening round, is now the biggest hurdle in his path.

Can Nadal still win the Wimbledon title? Of course. He showed at Roland Garros why he's still one of the best players in the world, and a deep run in the season's third major wouldn't be a surprise.

He could use some breaks, though. If one or two of his fellow top contenders were to get upset ahead of those potential late-round matchups, the task obviously becomes far more achievable.

If that doesn't happen, however, it's hard to imagine Nadal winning the title. Even if he was fortunate to survive meetings with Federer and Murray, it will take a toll. By the time he faced Djokovic, it would be nearly impossible to be at full strength.

Ultimately, Nadal is probably just happy the main focus is his draw rather than any lingering health issues. All he can do is take Wimbledon one match at a time and hope for a little help along the way.