Murray Wimbledon top seed for 1st time

World No. 1 not to meet other ‘ Big Four’ members until semifi nals

Defending champion Andy Murray’s indiff erent form of late did not prevent him being named top seed for Wimbledon for the fi rst time on Wednesday.

The 30- year- old Scot and world No. 1 – who suff ered a shock fi rst- round defeat at the hands of journeyman Australian Jordan Thompson at last week’s Queen’s tournament – will not face any of his fellow members of the “Big Four” until the semifi nals.

Novak Djokovic, whose form has also taken a turn for the worse, Roger Federer, fresh from winning at Halle, and Rafael Nadal, reinvigorated after triumphing at the French Open, are seeded in the top four. It is the fi rst time since Wimbledon in 2014 the quartet have been the top four seeds at a Grand Slam event.

Djokovic – a two- time Wimbledon champion – and seven- time champion Federer both benefi t from Wimbledon organizers’ habit of not sticking blindly to the world rankings.

Djokovic is raised to second seed despite being world No. 4 and Federer is promoted to third seed from a global ranking of No. 5 with second- ranked Nadal dropping down to fourth seed.

World No. 4 Stan Wawrinka – overwhelmed by Nadal in the French Open fi nal – has never reached the last four at Wimbledon and drops to fi fth seeding.

The player in the men’s draw who gains most benefi t from Wimbledon’s liberal seedings policy is Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller who is lifted 10 places from 26th in the world to 16th on account of his love of grass.

The pressure Murray feels at Wimbledon actually helps him concentrate better, the defending champion has said.

The 2013 and 2016 winner has struggled for consistency this year, failing to win any of his fi ve clay events.

“I do feel like the pressure and the spotlight also makes me concentrate more. I do fi nd it stressful but I think it helps me concentrate better,” Murray told Sky Sports.

The women’s draw sees world No. 1 and last year’s beaten fi nalist Angelique Kerber of Germany top the seedings with Romania’s French Open fi nalist Simona Halep, Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic and Ukrainian Elina Svitolina rounding up the top four.

Defending champion Serena Williams is absent as she awaits giving birth to her fi rst child.

Two- time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova is seeded 11 and provided she recovers from an abdominal injury, which ruled her out of Eastbourne this week, could provide a fairy- tale winner after suff ering severe wounds to her left hand while fi ghting off a knife- wielding burglar at her home in December.