Defending champion Rafael Nadal has been given a tough draw for Wimbledon as the decides whether to compete in the grass court grand slam.
Nadal, who has been battling tendinitis in both knees, has been paired with Frenchman Arnaud Clement in the first round. The Spaniard lost in straight sets to Lleyton Hewitt at an exhibition tournament at the Hurlingham Club on Thursday and if he gets past Clement he would likely face the Australian in the second round. The world number one was clearly troubled by his knee injury in the defeat to former Wimbledon champion Hewitt and will make a decision on his fitness after playing Stanislas Wawrinka at the tournament on Friday. Five-time champion Roger Federer has been placed in the same half of the draw as fourth seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia as he bids for a record 15th grand slam title. The Swiss maestro will open against Yen-Hsun Lu.
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If Nadal is ruled out through injury, it would appear to open the way for home hope Andy Murray, the third seed who is seeded to meet him in the semifinals. Murray, who won at Queen’s Club last week as Nadal sat out through injury, has been paired with Robert Kendrick. The American took Nadal to five sets at Wimbledon last year, but Murray has won their previous three encounters. In the women’s draw, the Williams sisters could face each other in a repeat of last year’s final. Defending champion Venus is seeded to face top-ranked Dinara Safina of Russia in the semifinals. World number two Serena is in the same half of the draw as fourth-ranked Elena Dementieva of Russia. Former champion Maria Sharapova, who is seeded 24th, opens against qualifier Viktoriya Kutuzova while French Open winner Svetlana Kuznetsova will play Akiko Morigami.
