Federer and Nadal on Wimbledon semi-final collision course

One of tennis’ most celebrated rivalries could be reignited in the semi-finals at The Championships, Wimbledon, as seven-time champion Roger Federer and second seed Rafael Nadal find themselves on a collision course in the bottom half of the 2014 draw.

The draw, which was made at the All England Club on Friday morning, pits defending champion Andy Murray in the top half with No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic.

Looking to win his eighth Wimbledon crown, Federer is set to open his campaign against Paolo Lorenzi, with the prospect of Julien Benneteau or Gilles Muller in the second round. The Swiss, who suffered a shock second-round exit at the hands of Sergiy Stakhovsky last year, is projected to meet No. 30 seed Marcel Granollers in the third round.

The 32-year-old Federer could meet old foe Lleyton Hewitt in the fourth round. The 2002 Wimbledon champion opens against Michal Przysiezny, with the likelihood of 2013 semi-finalist Jerzy Janowicz in the second round, though the Pole has won just two matches since February.

In what would be an all-Swiss quarter-final, Federer is seeded to meet Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka in the last eight. Wawrinka, who has endured first-round exits in three of the past four years at Wimbledon, opens against Joao Sousa. His first seeded opponent would be Dmitry Tursunov in the third round, while the in-form Feliciano Lopez or Wimbledon marathon man John Isner are likely fourth-round challengers.

Murray will open The 2014 Championships at 1pm on Centre Court on Monday, with the top half of the draw in action. Federer, Nadal and the rest of the bottom half will play Tuesday.

Potential quarter-finals: Djokovic v Berdych, Murray v Ferrer, Wawrinka v Federer and Raonic v Nadal

Gentlemen’s Singles Seeds:

DJOKOVIC, Novak (SRB) [1]
NADAL, Rafael (ESP) [2]
MURRAY, Andy (GBR) [3]
FEDERER, Roger (SUI) [4]
WAWRINKA, Stan (SUI) [5]
BERDYCH, Tomas (CZE) [6]
FERRER, David (ESP) [7]
RAONIC, Milos (CAN) [8]
ISNER, John (USA) [9]
NISHIKORI, Kei (JPN) [10]
DIMITROV, Grigor (BUL) [11]
GULBIS, Ernests (LAT) [12]
GASQUET, Richard (FRA) [13]
TSONGA, Jo-Wilfried (FRA) [14]
JANOWICZ, Jerzy (POL) [15]
FOGNINI, Fabio (ITA) [16]
YOUZHNY, Mikhail (RUS) [17]
VERDASCO, Fernando (ESP) [18]
LOPEZ, Feliciano (ESP) [19]
ANDERSON, Kevin (RSA) [20]
DOLGOPOLOV, Alexandr (UKR) [21]
KOHLSCHREIBER, Philipp (GER) [22]
ROBREDO, Tommy (ESP) [23]
MONFILS, Gael (FRA) [24]
SEPPI, Andreas (ITA) [25]
CILIC, Marin (CRO) [26]
BAUTISTA AGUT, Roberto (ESP) [27]
GARCIA-LOPEZ, Guillermo (ESP) [28]
KARLOVIC, Ivo (CRO) [29]
GRANOLLERS, Marcel (ESP) [30]
POSPISIL, Vasek (CAN) [31]
TURSUNOV, Dmitry (RUS) [32]

Date: 20th June 2014, Source: ATP