The good news is that Rafael Nadal Nadal will be playing Wimbledon.
This was highly doubtful after his French Open triumph owing to his foot injury. But a mix of medication and rehabilitation has helped Nadal recover in time.
The seeds
The 2022 Wimbledon draw was revealed on Friday morning in London.
The 2008 and 2010 champion Rafael Nadal is back as the No.2 seed after winning the opening two Grand Slams of the year in Melbourne and Paris.
Rafa is on the opposite side of the draw to Novak Djokovic, who is the defending champion.
Novak is the top seed after Daniil Medvedev withdrew due to exclusion and Alexander Zverev was ruled out due to injury.
Men’s Seeds:
1 DJOKOVIC, Novak (Serbia)
2 NADAL, Rafael (Spain)
3 RUUD, Casper (Norway)
4 TSITSIPAS, Stefanos (Greece)
5 ALCARAZ, Carlos (Spain)
6 AUGER-ALIASSIME, Felix (Canada)
7 HURKACZ, Hubert (Poland)
8 BERRETTINI, Matteo (Italy)
9 NORRIE, Cameron (Great Britain)
10 SINNER, Jannik (Italy)
11 FRITZ, Taylor (USA)
12 SCHWARTZMAN, Diego (Argentina)
13 SHAPOVALOV, Denis (Canada)
14 CILIC, Marin (Croatia)
15 OPELKA, Reilly (USA)
16 CARRENO BUSTA, Pablo (Spain)
17 BAUTISTA AGUT, Roberto (Spain)
18 DIMITROV, Grigor (Bulgaria)
19 MONFILS, Gael (France)
20 DE MINAUR, Alex (Australia)
21 ISNER, John (USA)
22 VAN DE ZANDSCHULP, Botic (Holland)
23 BASILASHVILI, Nikoloz (Georgia)
24 TIAFOE, Frances (USA)
25 RUNE, Holger (Denmark)
26 KECMANOVIC, Miomir (Serbia)
27 KRAJINOVIC, Filip (Serbia)
28 SONEGO, Lorenzo (Italy)
29 EVANS, Daniel (Great Britain)
30 BROOKSBY, Jenson (USA)
31 PAUL, Tommy (USA)
32 BAEZ, Sebastian (Argentina)
Since 2021, the seedings for the men’s have been based on the world rankings.
Wimbledon’s decision to bar Russian and Belarusian players also impacted the seedings.
Nadal’s draw
Rafael Nadal will start his quest for a third Wimbledon title against Francisco Cerundolo, who is currently ranked 42nd in the world, his highest ever career ranking.
This is set to be the first meeting between the pair.
The 23-year-old Argentinian comes into the championships having only won one match on grass this season.
He defeated Pedro Martinez 6-2, 6-3 at Queen’s before crashing out to Ryan Peniston.
Next, Nadal might face Sam Querrey and Lorenzo Sonego as potential opponents before possible fourth-round clash with Marin Cilic.
Defending champion Novak Djokovic is in the other half of the draw.
Nadal has a relatively favourable draw as powerful opponents like Carlos Alcaraz, Casper Ruud and Hubert Hurkaz are also in the other half.
Rafa’s potential route to the final
1st round: Francisco Cerundolo
2nd round: Sam Querrey
3rd round: Lorenzo Sonego
4th round: Marin Cilic
Quarter-final: Felix Auger-Aliassime
Semi-final: Matteo Berrettini or Stefanos Tsitsipas
Final: Novak Djokovic
Possible men’s singles quarterfinals outcomes
Novak Djokovic vs Carlos Alcaraz
Casper Ruud vs Hubert Hurkacz
Matteo Berrettini vs Stefanos Tsitsipas
Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Rafael Nadal
Nadal’s past performances
Rafa is a two-time champion at the tournament, having won the title in 2008 and 2010.
He was the runner-up in 2006, 2007 and 2011.
Nadal will play in Wimbledon for the first time since 2019, when he lost in the semifinals to Roger Federer.
The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the 2020 edition of the tournament being cancelled.
In 2021, Rafa withdrew owing to injury.
