Djokovic Wimbledon Top Seed as No. 1 Nadal Relegated

Second-ranked Novak Djokovic was made top seed at next weeks Wimbledon tennis championships, while world No. 1 Rafael Nadal was relegated to second.

Spains Nadal, who won a record ninth French Open title earlier this month by beating Djokovic of Serbia in the final, wont be top seed at the All England Club because of his record on grass over the past two years.

Five-time champion Serena Williams is the womens top seed, ahead of Australian Open champion Li Na of China and Romanias Simona Halep. Polands Agnieszka Radwanska, a former Wimbledon finalist, was seeded fourth.

Wimbledon has its own formula for seeding players, unlike the other three majors, which follow the rankings of the mens ATP World Tour and womens WTA tour. The mens seeds are based on the ATP rankings plus performance on faster grass courts over the past two years. The womens seeding order usually follows the WTA rankings unless organizers need to make a change to balance the draw.

Two-time Wimbledon champion Nadal, 28, last won a match at the tournament in the first round in 2013, before he was upset by Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic. Nadal, a 14-time major champion, lost in the first round last year to Belgiums Steve Darcis.

Rafael Nadal returns a shot during his men's singles final match against Novak Djokovic on day fifteen of the French Open at Roland Garros in Paris, on June 8. Nadal, who won a record ninth French Open title earlier this month by beating Djokovic of Serbia in the final, wont be top seed at the All England Club because of his record on grass over the past two years. Close

Rafael Nadal returns a shot during his men's singles final match against Novak Djokovic... Read More

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Rafael Nadal returns a shot during his men's singles final match against Novak Djokovic on day fifteen of the French Open at Roland Garros in Paris, on June 8. Nadal, who won a record ninth French Open title earlier this month by beating Djokovic of Serbia in the final, wont be top seed at the All England Club because of his record on grass over the past two years.

After winning an unprecedented fifth straight Roland Garros championship on June 8, Nadal went to Halle, Germany, to start his grass-court campaign, only to lose his opening round in straight sets to 78th-ranked Dustin Brown of Germany.

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Djokovic Wimbledon Top Seed as No. 1 Nadal Relegated