The seeds for men's singles at Wimbledon are out, and it's safe to say Rafael Nadal isn't thrilled about Roger Federer receiving a boost and being seeded higher than him.
Nadal, who won his record 12th French Open earlier this month, is currently ranked No. 2 in the world. Novak Djokovic is at the top, while Federer is No. 3. But in the seedings for Wimbledon, the third Grand Slam of the season, Federer is seeded second and Nadal third. Djokovic is still No. 1.
Because of the way Wimbledon seeds players, which is unique compared with other Grand Slams, Nadal knew this was a very realistic possibility.
Prior to the seeds being released Wednesday, Nadal told a Spanish TV station, via Reuters, "The only thing that doesn't seem right to me is that it's just Wimbledon that does it. If everyone did it, I think it would be appropriate or correct."
Unlike other Grand Slam tournaments, Wimbledon does not strictly follow the worldwide ATP (and WTA for women) rankings and considers players' past grass-court performances as well.
The Wimbledon seeding formula came about when there was a clear distinction between clay court specialists & fast court tennis. Many clay courters even skipped the grass. That is not the case now. Players adapted, grass is slower and the game is played similar. I agree with this. https://t.co/hPh1qZkBAj
Nadal is known as the king of clay with the majority of his 18 Grand Slam titles being at the French Open, but Federer has won Wimbledon eight times — five consecutive times between 2003 and 2007 and most recently in 2017 — on his way to a record 20 Grand Slam victories. To compare, Nadal has only won Wimbledon twice (2008 and 2010).
More according to Reuters:
"Wimbledon is the only tournament of the year that doesn't follow the ranking," the 33-year-old Nadal told Spanish TV station #Vamos on Tuesday.
"It's their choice. Either way, being second or third seed, I have to play at the best level to aspire to the things I aspire to. It is better to be second than third, but if they consider that I have to be third I will accept.
"I don't think it's a good thing that Wimbledon is the only one with its own seeding formula."
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