Rafael Nadal has been seeded fifth ahead of Wimbledon, which could have him play against his title rivals as early as the quarter-finals.
12-time Grand Slam champion Nadal slipped down the ranking after a seven month injury layoff, fifth behind compatriot David Ferrer, who was a quarter-finalist last year at the All England Court.
2011 winner Novak Djokovic tops the men’s seeding, ahead of Andy Murray and Roger Federer, who complete the first three places.
The seeding means Nadal could face 2011 winner Djokovic, seven-time champion Federer or Briton, Murray, in the last eight of Wimbledon.
Wimbledon uses recent grasscourt performances as well as the world rankings to seed players and the Spaniard who won a record eight French Open title last month was not promoted after he suffered a stunning second-round defeat to Lukas Rosol at the tournament in 2012.
“As a player you can’t get too obsessed about the draw,” Murray told BBC Sports.
“I’d sign up to be in the quarter-finals against Rafa tomorrow if someone offered me that.
“You could say If I get through that match, then the semi-final might not be as tough, but if you want to win the biggest tournaments you have to beat the best players in the world. It doesn’t really matter where they are in the draw,” Murray said.
Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka head the women’s list, followed by Maria Sharapova, with the draws to be made on Friday.
