Roger Federer is facing a daunting task of defending his Wimbledon Open championship after the former world's no.1 ran out of luck in Saturday's morning draw for the men's singles competition.
Federer, who's seeking a record 8th championship at All England Tennis Club and 18th Grand Slam overall in his career, will have to beat all three other members of men's tennis' 'Big Four' to win the crown. The result of the draw put the Swiss Maestro in the bottom half of the bracket along with French Open winner Rafael Nadal and Olympic and US Open champion Andy Murray.
Based on the bracket, Federer's first four games could have him as the favorite with Victor Hanescu, Serhiy Stakhovsky, Jerzy Janowicz, and Nicolas Almagro emerging as his likely opponents up to the fourth round. However, the competition will start to get tougher for him when he reaches the quarterfinal round. Federer could face Nadal as early as the round-of-eight while Murray and Novak Djokovic will likely be his semifinal and final opponent respectively.
Federer, who has been struggling to find his winning form this season until his breakthrough victory in Halle a week ago, accepted the challenge in stride as he believes beating the bests is the only way to be a true champion.
"If you want to win this type of tournament, you have to beat the best anyway," Federer told the Guardian on Saturday. "You don't want to hope for a good draw; you don't hope for the worst draw either. At the same time you have to feel confident enough that you can do it all. It's not an easy draw for Rafa, it's not an easy draw for me, it's not an easy draw for Andy."
Meanwhile, women's singles top-seed Serena Williams is set to kick off his Wimbledon Open campaign with a first-round match against Mandy Minella of Luxemberg. Williams will have the easiest draw among the top-three women's netter while Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova are likely headed to another semis showdown after they were once again placed in the bottom half of the bracket.
Wimbledon Open Championships Bracket
Men's Singles Full Bracket - Click Here
Women's Singles Full Bracket - Click Here
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