Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams seeded No. 1 at Wimbledon

Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams will be the top men’s and women’s seeds at Wimbledon, which begins Monday. The main surprise in the seedings, which were announced Wednesday, was that 12-time Grand Slam title winner Rafael Nadal was No. 5, primarily because of a seven-month layoff he took because of knee problems.

Nadal’s enforced break began last year after his second-round upset loss to Lukas Rosol at Wimbledon. However, Nadal has won seven of nine tournaments since his return, including extending his record with an eighth French Open title this month in Paris, where he was the No. 3 seed.

Here’s a link to the seedings, which are determined by different formulas in the men’s and women’s fields.

Nadal’s Wimbledon seeding means he could face a quarterfinal matchup against Djokovic, No. 2 Andy Murray, or defending champion Roger Federer, who’s seeded No. 3. Federer, who recently ended a rare, 10-month title drought by winning an event in Halle, Germany, is vying for a record eighth Wimbledon title.

Murray discussed his Wimbledon preparations in a blog on the BBC’s website.

The highest-seeded American male is John Isner, at 18.

On the women’s side, Williams is considered an overwhelming pick to win her sixth Wimbledon title. She has a career-best winning streak of 31 straight matches, including her resounding victory over Maria Sharapova at the French Open a couple of weeks ago. She is 74-3 since her first-round loss at the 2012 French Open.

Her sister, Venus, withdrew from Wimbledon on Tuesday, citing a bad back.

Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, who lost to Serena Williams in last year’s Wimbledon semifinals, is seeded No. 2.

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