Wimbledon 2015 Seeds Revealed Ahead of Draw Release, Rafael Nadal Drops to 10th
Defending Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic is seeded first for the upcoming English tournament for a fourth consecutive year, but further down, two-time champion Rafael Nadal is clinging onto a spot in the top 10.
Seven-time winner Roger Federer follows the Serbian in second, while 2013 winner and local favourite Andy Murray is third.
On the women's side, five-time winner Serena Williams leads the pack. Last year's winner Petra Kvitova is seeded No. 2, while Simona Halep and Maria Sharapova make up the top four, as reported by the official Wimbledon website and B/R UK:
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Nightmare Route Opens for Nadal
A difficult year just got even more challenging for Nadal. Despite winning the Stuttgart title on grass in preparation for Wimbledon, he was stunned by world No. 75 Alexandr Dolgopolov in the first round at Queens Club.
Having escaped his unprecedented problems on clay—which saw the nine-time French Open winner eliminated from Roland Garros at the quarter-final stage by Djokovic—it seemed Nadal's victory in Germany would allow him to gather momentum. Dolgopolov destroyed this notion.
Nadal can now face a top seed as early as the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, noted Stuart Fraser of MailSport:
This is a nightmare realisation for the man who has struggled to cover ground and hit with the same ferocity as he did before struggling with persistent injury problems.
Memories of last year's round-of-16 loss to Nick Kyrgios may come flooding back as it appears Nadal will need to quickly improve if he's to enter the latter stage of the tournament.
Few atmospheres on the season's calendar can match that of Murray playing in front of the British crowd.
The Scot is an emotional player—someone who has worked hard on channeling his frustration into positive energy during matches—and will naturally have his local fans screaming, whooping and cheering after each shot. Many opponents have been made to feel inconsequential on the other side of the court over the years.
Djokovic will be extra motivated to retain his crown after losing the French Open title to Stan Wawrinka. He brushed past Nadal at Roland Garros (7-5, 6-3, 6-1) and will have noticed the Spaniard's wilting quality throughout the match. He also defeated Nadal in Monte Carlo (6-3, 6-3) earlier in the year.
Nadal hasn't faced Federer since last year's Australian Open semi-final, in which he emerged triumphant before losing to Wawrinka in the final. Federer beat Nadal in the 2007 Wimbledon showpiece, something the Spaniard reciprocated one year later.
At this point in his career, Nadal is a painted target, not an endlessly feared competitor. Everyone he faces will look to exploit any lingering doubts than he can one day return to his best.
The 29-year-old's drop down the rankings has put him in a hugely challenging position, one which could see him plummet even further if he doesn't land a victory against the elite soon.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
