Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal could meet in the semi-finals of Wimbledon after both were drawn in the same half. Nadal was unhappy about being seeded below Federer in a reversal of their world rankings but ultimately it has made no difference, with both in the opposite half to top seed Novak Djokovic.
Nadal has the most eye-catching draw, with a second-round clash against Nick Kyrgios looming assuming he beats Japan’s Yuichi Sugita, while Denis Shapovalov is a potential third-round opponent and Marin Cilic his seeded rival in the fourth round.
Federer opens against South Africa’s Lloyd Harris and is a carrot in the second round for Britain’s Jay Clarke, who takes on American qualifier Noah Rubin in round one. Djokovic will begin the defence of his title at 1pm on Centre Court on Monday against veteran German Philipp Kohlschreiber.
The highest-ranked British player, 30th seed Kyle Edmund, plays Spain’s Jaume Munar in the opening round and could face seventh seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the third round.
Nineteen-year-old wild card Paul Jubb will make his Wimbledon debut against Portugal’s João Sousa while Dan Evans and James Ward would play each other if they can beat Federico Delbonis and Nikoloz Basilashvili respectively. The final British player in the men’s singles, Cameron Norrie, will play Denis Istomin and could face eighth seed Kei Nishikori in the second round.
In the women’s draw, Ashleigh Barty will play her first match as the top seed at a grand slam against China’s Zheng Saisai and could face former Wimbledon champion Garbiñe Muguruza in the third round.
Britain’s Harriet Dart drew American lucky loser Christina McHale while Serena Williams will take on Italian qualifier Giulia Gatto-Monticone.
Williams was drawn in the same section as defending champion Angelique Kerber, meaning there could be a repeat of last year’s final in the fourth round.
British wild card Katie Swan, who won her first match at Wimbledon last summer, opens against German Laura Siegemund.
British No 1 Johanna Konta will face Romanian qualifier Ana Bogdan and could take on ninth seed Sloane Stephens in the third round in a rematch of their French Open quarter-final, which Konta won handsomely. Assuming she recovers from an arm injury in time to compete, sixth seed Petra Kvitová faces a tough opening match against Eastbourne semi-finalist Ons Jabeur.
