"Second seed Rafael Nadal, competing at the All England Club for the first time since capturing the 2008 title (d. Federer), has been drawn to meet Kei Nishikori of Japan in the first round.

Third seed Novak Djokovic, a quarter-finalist at the Australian Open and Roland Garros this year, is in Federer’s half of the draw and will challenge Olivier Rochus of Belgium.

Fourth seed Andy Murray, who will carry the weight of British expectation, will be looking to better his semi-final exit (l. to Roddick) last year. The Scot faces Czech Jan Hajek.

Three-time runner-up Andy Roddick, the No. 5 seed, who lost 16-14 in the fifth set against Federer in the 2009 final, will meet American compatriot Rajeev Ram in the first round.

Federer, who is looking to win his 17th major championship title, could meet No. 7 seed Nikolay Davydenko in the quarter-finals. Davydenko faces Kevin Anderson in the first round. This year’s Roland Garros semi-finalists, No. 12 seed Tomas Berdych and No. 16 seed Jurgen Melzer, are also in Federer’s quarter of the draw.

Nadal, forced to miss the 2009 championships due to knee tendonitis, could meet No. 6 seed Robin Soderling in the quarter-finals. Soderling has a potentially tricky opening test against Robby Ginepri. Spanish compatriot David Ferrer, the No. 9 seed, and No. 13 seed Mikhail Youzhny are also in Nadal’s quarter of the draw.

Djokovic and Roddick are potential quarter-final opponents in the top half of the draw but 2002 champion and No. 15 seed Lleyton Hewitt could stand in Djokovic's way. For Roddick, fourth-round tests could come from either No. 11 seed Marin Cilic or No. 17 seed Ivan Ljubicic.

Murray, who is attempting to become Great Britain’s first singles champion since Fred Perry in 1936, could meet No. 26 seed Gilles Simon in the third round, No. 14 seed Juan Carlos Ferrero or No. 18 seed Sam Querrey in the last 16, then either No. 8 seed Fernando Verdasco or No. 10 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarter-finals. Verdasco has been drawn to meet Fabio Fognini in the first round.

In the doubles draw, two-time defending champions Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic will attempt to win their sixth title of the year. The top seeds will meet British wild cards Jonathan Marray and Jamie Murray in the first round.

Their 2010 ATP Doubles Team Rankings rivals, second seeds Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, who boast a 40-10 record including the 2006 title, face Marco Chiudinelli and Bobby Reynolds in the first round.

Third seeds and 2008 semi-finalists Lukas Dlouhy and Leander Paes, drawn in the Bryan’s half of the draw, will meet qualifiers Rik de Voest and Mischa Zverev, while fourth seeds and 2003 finalists Mahesh Bhupathi and Max Mirnyi challenge Argentines Maximo Gonzalez and Sebastian Prieto.

The All England Club’s chief executive Ian Ritchie and Wimbledon referee Andrew Jarrett, a former British player, presided over the draw ceremony."

"They've won eight of the last 10 titles here and have met each other in the finals four of those years, and for that reason - and because they are ranked No.1 and No.2 in the world now, too - it only makes sense that Serena Williams and Venus Williams are the favorites for the title.

Serena, a three-time Wimbledon champion in 2002, 2003 and 2009, is the No.1 seed this year. She was dealt a tough draw, however - after a first round match-up with Portuguese wunderkind Michelle Larcher de Brito, she could face the likes of Anna Chakvetadze and Tamarine Tanasugarn - both of whom have won grass court titles before - in her next two rounds. And in the fourth round she could face either former No.1 Maria Sharapova or former No.5 Daniela Hantuchova, both of whom love playing on grass. No.7 seed Agnieszka Radwanska is Serena's projected quarterfinal opponent, but Li Na and Svetlana Kuznetsova look good in that section as well.

The second quarter is highlighted by No.3 seed Caroline Wozniacki and No.6 seed Samantha Stosur. Neither has ever gone deep here, Wozniacki's best result being the fourth round and Stosur's being the third round; but both achieved those results just a year ago here, and they've both grown leaps and bounds since then, coming in on their highest seedings ever at a major (for Wozniacki this is the second time she is a No.3 seed, having also held that in Paris last month). There are a number of players who could break up that Wozniacki-Stosur quarterfinal however, most notably Victoria Azarenka (who seems to be back at her best in Eastbourne this week), Aravane Rezai (who beat Wozniacki in Eastbourne) and Zheng Jie (a semifinalist here in 2008).

Venus, a five-time champion here in 2000, 2001, 2005, 2007 and 2008, is seeded No.2. Venus' early rounds could see her face Ekaterina Makarova, who just reached the Eastbourne final, and No.26 seed Alisa Kleybanova in the third round; she could play Shahar Peer, Dinara Safina or former top stars Ana Ivanovic and Sania Mirza in the fourth round, and new French Open champion Francesca Schiavone or 2007 Wimbledon finalist Marion Bartoli in the quarterfinals. Venus hasn't had too much trouble against any of them before, but the big trouble could come in the semis.

The third quarter of the draw, led by No.4 seed Jelena Jankovic, is home to the two comeback queens of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin. No.8 seed Clijsters and No.17 seed Henin is a possible fourth round match-up, with Clijsters having Maria Kirilenko and Henin having Nadia Petrova in the third round; if they make that match, one of the deepest rivalries on the Tour will see an amazing 25th chapter (the series is tied, 12-12, but Clijsters has won both of their matches since Henin came back to the Tour at the start of 2010). Jankovic has never done better than the fourth round here and after a first round clash with British hope Laura Robson, it could be tough for her to make that breakthrough, given her fourth round opponent is another Belgian, No.15 seed Yanina Wickmayer, a tough customer on grass."