Ever since the news came out that Rafael Nadal has been seeded fifth at the Wimbledon 2013 Championships, opinions arose as to whether this should have been the case or it would have been more appropriate to have bumped up Nadal’s seeding to number four considering his past achievements in Wimbledon (two-time winner) and his performance so far this 2013 season (nine finals out of nine tournaments with seven title victories).
For the members of the “Big Four,” even Nadal himself agree with the number five seeding.
“Is completely fair that I am No. 5,” Nadal said. “I am No. 5 and David is No. 4. He win his privilege to be No. 4 before me, and that’s it.”
Andy Murray said: “Last year, Rafa, he lost in the second round of Wimbledon. Yes, it was a shock and it was a big surprise.”
“But with the way our ranking system works, having a one-year ranking, it’s very, very difficult to maintain your ranking if you get an injury. Ferrer made the quarters of Wimbledon last year, made the semis of the U.S. Open, he made semis at the Australian Open, made the final here. The guy deserves to be seeded where he is. It’s not like he’s got there by fluke. I mean, he’s winning matches and improving every single year. His results in the Slams are phenomenal. I have no issue with the seeding. I’d rather Rafa and Roger were on the other side of the draw, but they’re not. And you just deal with that,” the British number one added.
As for Federer: “It’s not like he’s unseeded. He is seeded within the top eight.”
“He is seeded, so you don’t face him in the first round. Quarterfinals are still a long way away. It was never supposed to be easy winning Grand Slams. I’m ready for the challenge. I like tough draws. I don’t shy away from them. All you can control as a tennis player is who you play and who you face. That’s up to the draw to decide. I have a very difficult draw with Rafa being in my quarter. My focus is on the first round. If you want to win the tournament here, you anyway have to beat the best. That’s what I’m here for,” the defending champion added.
