Roger Federer faces a tough road to another Wimbledon final after draw threw Rafa Nadal and home favorite Andy Murray into the champion's path and cleared the way for world number one Novak Djokovic.The third seed could face Spaniard Nadal, seeded only fifth to reflect his current ranking, in what would likely be an epic quarter-final on the grass of southwest London.Federer and Nadal, the big danger in the draw, played three finals in 2006, 2007 and 2008.If the Swiss seven-times winner gets through the quarter-final, he faces a potential clash with last year's finalist Murray in the semi-finals.World number one Novak Djokovic would be on course to face seventh seed Tomas Berdych in the quarter-finals but will avoid any of his three main rivals until the final.The draw is certainly a tough one for Federer, who has recently struggled but rallied to victory in Halle, Germany, in his favorite warm-up for Wimbledon. Four of Federer's seven wins at Wimbledon came after he lifted the trophy in Halle.Federer, Nadal and Murray will all play opening day on Monday at Wimbledon.Federer will open the defense of his title against Victor Hanescu of Romania, while Nadal will take on Steve Darcis of Belgium and Murray plays Benjamin Becker of Germany, an opponent he beat last week at the Queen's Club.Djokovic, who won Wimbledon two years ago, will start on Tuesday against Florian Mayer of Germany. He is guaranteed to keep the No. 1 spot in the ATP rankings after the tournament whatever the result he achieves.There are several noteworthy first-round matchups in the draw, with former champion Lleyton Hewitt facing No. 11 Stanislas Wawrinka; No.21 Sam Querrey against Bernard Tomic; and No. 10 Marin Cilic playing Marcos Baghdatis.Roger Federer's possible opponents: Round 1 : Victor Hănescu Round 2 : Sergiy Stakhovsky Round 3 : Lukas Rosol / Jurgen Melzer / Fabio Fognini Round 4 : Nicolás Almagro / Jerzy Janowicz / Radek Stepanek QF : Rafael Nadal / Stanislas Wawrinka / John Isner Semi Final : Jo-Wilfred Tsonga / Andy Murray Final : Novak Djokovic / David FerrerDate: 21st June 2013, Source: ReutersSource:http://rogerfedererthechamp.blogspot.com/2013/06/federer-murray-nadal-in-same-half-of.html
Federer, Murray, Nadal in same half of Wimbledon Images
Roger Federer can win Wimbledon 2012: Tim Henman | Tennis News, Live ...
(1061 x 768 - 143.17 KB - jpeg)
... Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in the same half, with Novak Djokovic
(576 x 324 - 22.17 KB - jpeg)
... -Ferrer-joins-Roger-Federer-Novak-Djokovic-Andy-Murray-Rafael-Nadal
(646 x 418 - 304.17 KB - jpeg)
Federer, Murray drawn in same half in the US Open | Khelnama
(600 x 394 - 21.61 KB - jpeg)
(Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)Rafael Nadal knows this story well. All too well. Saw it up close the previous time he played in a major tournament, actually. Early round, main stadium, unknown opponent taking risky swings and putting everything in. At Wimbledon nearly a year ago, it was 100th-ranked Lukas Rosol who took it to Nadal and beat him in the second round. At the French Open on Monday, in Nadal's return to Grand Slam action after missing seven months with knee trouble, it was 59th-ranked Daniel Brands in the guest-star role. Like Rosol, Brands is six-foot-five and lanky. Like Rosol, Brands employed a go-for-broke style and was hitting big. And for one whole set and most of the next during a first-round match in Court Philippe Chatrier, against the most successful man in Roland Garros history, it worked.Nadal already owns a record seven French Open titles, including the past three. His bid to become the only man with eight championships at any of tennis' quartet of most important tournaments got off to a slow start, before he restored order by coming back to beat a faltering Brands 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4, 6-3. "He was trying to hit every ball as hard as he can," said Nadal, 37-2 this season, with 16 victories in a row. "He made me suffer, I can tell you." Brands came in 0-4 at the French Open, and with a sub-.500 career record in all tour matches, and his strategy was right out of Rosol's playbook: Keep points short and aim for the lines. "That's the way. If you give Nadal time, there's no chance. You have to be aggressive. That's my view," Rosol, who's now ranked 36th, said Monday after winning his first-round match. "If other players play aggressive against him, that's the only way to beat him." Toni Nadal, who is Rafael's uncle and coach, saw similarities with the last time his nephew played at a Grand Slam. "Yes, it was a little the same," Uncle Toni said. "Against Rosol, in the fifth set, we couldn't do anything." But when a reporter wanted to know whether there's a pattern being established as to the type of foe who can bother Rafael, Toni shrugged that off, replying: "When you play against an opponent who serves really well, who puts in a high percentage of first serves, and who hits balls really fast, it's complicated for everyone — not just for Rafael." Had the third-seeded Nadal lost the match, it would have been one of the biggest upsets in the sport's history. Even merely losing the first set was significant, though, considering that Nadal began the day having dropped only 14 of the 170 sets he'd contested at the clay-court major tournament. The victory improved his career record at Roland Garros to 53-1, the only loss coming in the fourth round in 2009 against Robin Soderling, not incidentally a six-foot-four free swinger. "It was very, very difficult for us," Toni Nadal said after Monday's match.Source: http://www.cbc.ca/sports/tennis/story/2013/05/27/sp-atp-wta-tennis-french-open-roland-garros.html
