Rafael Nadal blasts Wimbledon over ‘disrespectful’ seeding process that favours Roger Federer
Rafael Nadal has blasted the seeding system at Wimbledon, branding it as disrespectful to the world rankings.
The Spaniard is the world number two but has been seeded third at Wimbledon as grass court form weighs heavily in their thinking.
That has seen Federer, the world number three, leapfrog Nadal in the seedings.
“Wimbledon is the only tournament of the year that does it like this,” Nadal told Spanish television channel Movistar.
“Obviously it would be better to be two than three but if they think I have to be three I will accept three and fight to win the matches I have to win.
“Having said that, the only thing that doesn’t seem right about this issue is that it is only Wimbledon that does it. If they all did it, it would seem more correct.
“It’s not only about my particular case. There have been many occasions when players have played well all year on all surfaces but Wimbledon does not respect the ranking they have earned.
“And for this reason they get more complicated draws.”
Nadal’s ire may be justified, as it means he is the odd one out in the ‘big three’ and therefore guaranteed to run into Federer or Novak Djokovic before the final should all three progress as expected.
“For me personally, it means if I am three, to get to the final, Djokovic or Federer will be in my half,” Nadal added.
“But that can only happen in the semi-finals and to get there I have to win five matches. Today I’m far away.”
Nadal, a two-time Wimbledon champion, heads to SW19 on the back of winning his 18th Grand Slam title at the French Open earlier this month, but without a significant warm-up on grass.
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