Despite being ranked No. 2, Roger Federer will be No. 1 at Wimbledon.
The All England Lawn Tennis Club, using their prerogative to seed as they place, seeded the six-time Wimbledon champion Federer No. 1 in the men’s singles field, ahead of Rafael Nadal, who took over the top ranking from Federer on June 7.
Nadal won his only title at Wimbledon in 2008, defeating Federer 9-7 in the fifth set. He did not defend his title last year due to knee problems.
Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam event where seedings can differ from a player’s ranking. Organizers take into account a player’s performance on grass in the previous two years.
Nadal’ s return to the No. 1 spot, earned after winning a fifth French Open title on June 6, prevented Federer from surpassing Pete Sampras’s record of 286 weeks at the top. Federer has been No. 1 for 285 weeks.
Serbia’s Novak Djokovic was seeded third for Wimbledon, while Andy Murray of Britain was seeded fourth. Andy Roddick of the U.S., last year’s losing finalist, was named the No. 5 seed.
The women’s seedings follow the WTA Tour singles rankings list, the All England Club said. Top-ranked Serena Williams, the defending champion, is the top seed ahead of her sister Venus. Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki is the No. 3 seed, followed by Jelena Jankovic of Serbia at No. 4.
French Open champion and sixth-ranked Francesca Schiavone of Italy was named fifth seed after world No. 5 and Olympic champion Elena Dementieva of Russia pulled out with a calf injury.
For full seeding and tournament information, go to www.Wimbledon.org