Federer Faces Potential Rough Road in Defense of Wimbledon Title
June 21, 2013 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
Photo credit: Kenneth B. Goldberg
In order to defend his Wimbledon crown, Roger Federer could have to face the trio of Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic, as he was drawn in the same half as Murray and the same quarter as Nadal on Friday at the All England Club. Federer starts his bid for a record eighth crown against Victor Hanescu on Centre Court.
Djokovic begins his run for a second Wimbledon title against Florian Mayer. In his side of the draw, Djokovic could face 13th-seeded Tommy Haas or the number 19 seed Gilles Simon in the fourth round, followed by a potential clash against 2010 runner-up and seventh seed Tomas Berdych or ninth seed Richard Gasquet in the quarterfinals. Fourth-seeded David Ferrer, who takes on Martin Alund, joins Djokovic in the top half of the draw.
Nadal will meet Steve Darcis in the first round. Nadal has won seven titles from nine finals since his return in January from a seven-month layoff.
Second seed Murray will open play against Benjamin Becker and could challenge sixth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the last eight. Murray, who is looking to become the first British male Wimbledon champion in 77 years, and beat both Becker and Tsonga last week en route to his third Aegon Championships crown.
