Seven time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer is likely to face three-time champion in the Gentlemen's singles semi-final of the 2017 edition of the grass-court major, according to the main draw released on Friday, June 30.
Top seed and defending champion Andy Murray has managed to avoid both Federer and Djokovic, but has been drawn in the half, that also has defending French Open champion Rafael Nadal.
Tournament favourite Federer has been drawn in the third quarter and will open his campaign against Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine. The 18-time Grand Slam champion heads into the tournament on the back of an Australian Open title and the recently-won grass-court crown in Halle.
Federer is likely to meet Canadian sixth seed Milos Raonic in the quarter-final round and could face 13th seed Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth-round.
Tough road for struggling Djokovic
Djokovic, who is struggling to find form in the ongoing season, opens his campaign against Slovakia's Martin Klizan. The 30-year-old, who has reached the semi-final of Eastbourne International, faces an early test against Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro, who cost him Rio Olympics last year.
The second seed faces a tough road to the final stages as a stiff test against in-form eighth seed Dominic Thiem awaits him in the last-eight stage.
Fourth seed Nadal, who is drawn in the third quarter, opens campaign against John Millman of Australia. The Spaniard, who is among the title favourites, might face seventh seed Marin Cilic or ninth seed Kei Nishikori in the quarter-final before a potential semi-final clash against Murray.
NOTABLE 1ST ROUNDS
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 30, 2017
Del Potro v Kokkinakis
Verdasco v Anderson
Thiem v Pospisil
Federer v Dolgopolov
Kohlschreiber v Cilic
Gasquet v Ferrer
The Scot will have little trouble easing past the first-round as he faces a qualifier or a lucky loser. However, fitness concerns ahead of his title defence has come as a big setback.
Possible Gentlemen's singles quarter-final matches
- Andy Murray vs Stanislas Wawrinka
- Rafael Nadal vs Marin Cilic
- Roger Federer vs Milos Raonic
- Novak Djokovic vs Dominic Thiem
A strong show from Murray is a prerequisite if he has to defend his world number one tag. The numero uno is likely to face Nick Kyrgios as early as in the fourth round and a quarter-final against fifth seed Stanislas Wawrinka awaits him.
12th-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga also finds himself in the first quarter and may face Wawrinka as early as in the fourth-round. German youngster Alexander Zverev, who won his maiden Masters 1000 title in Rome earlier this year, is drawn in the third quarter and early clash against Raonic awaits him.
Halep, Konta drawn in same quarter
In the absence of defending Ladies' singles champion Serena Williams, Angelique Kerber will star as the top seed. She will face a qualifier in the first-round and a potential quarter-final outing against Svetlana Kuznetsova awaits the German.
Karolina Pliskova, the third seed, is facing the prospect of a quarter-final outing against fifth-seeded Dane Caroline Wozniacki.
PROJECTED QUARTER-FINALS
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 30, 2017
Kerber v Kuznetsova
Ka Pliskova v Wozniacki
Cibulkova v Svitolina
Konta v Halep#Wimbledon
Two-time champion Petra Kvitova is drawn in the final quarter and she will likely face second-seeded Simona Halep in the quarter-final if she manages to get past sixth seed Johanna Konta in a possible fourth-round clash. Eighth seed Dominika Cibulkova might take on fourth seed Elina Svitolina in the quarter-final.
Reigning French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko is drawn in the third quarter and she will face Bulgaria's Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the opening-round.
