view photoLONDON (AFP) - Defending champion Rafael Nadal will be the top seed in the men's singles at Wimbledon this year ahead of French Open champion Roger Federer, seeded second, and Queen's champion Andy Murray, who will be the third seed.
World number one Dinara Safina is top seed in the women's singles ahead of second seeded Serena Williams, the reigning Australian Open champion.
AFP/Lionel Bonaventureview photoNadal hopes to feature when Wimbledon gets under way on Monday despite missing Queen's with knee tendinitis.
Federer, beaten by Nadal in a thrilling five-set final at the All-England Club last year, opted to miss the grass-court event at Halle last week to recover from his exertions at Roland Garros, where he won his 14th career Grand Slam, but the Swiss is regarded as a strong favourite to win Wimbledon for the sixth time.
Murray, the world number three, is bidding to become the first British man to win Wimbledon since Fred Perry in 1936 and is seeded nine places higher than last year as a result of his superb start to the season.
The 22-year-old reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals in 2008 before losing to Nadal in straight sets.
The men's seedings are based on the current world rankings but are slightly adjusted to take into account grass-court performances in the last two years.
The only change in the top 10 sees world number eight Fernando Verdasco made seventh seed ahead of France's Gilles Simon, while Russia's Marat Safin and Ivo big-serving Croat Karlovic are the biggest movers.
Former Australian Open champion Safin, a surprise semi-finalist last year, is seeded 15th despite being ranked 23rd, while Karlovic moves from 31st in the world to number 23 seed.
In the women's singles, defending champion Venus Williams is the third seed. The only deviation from the rankings sees 2004 Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova, ranked 59th in the world, made the 24th seed.
Sharapova has plunged down the rankings after nine months out with a shoulder injury but reached the semi-finals of the WTA grass-court event in Birmingham last week.
Top 16 mens seeds:
1. Rafael Nadal (ESP)
2. Roger Federer (SWI)
3. Andy Murray (GBR)
4. Novak Djokovic (SRB)
5. Juan Martin del Potro (ARG)
6. Andy Roddick (USA)
7. Fernando Verdasco (ESP)
8. Gilles Simon (FRA)
9. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA)
10. Fernando Gonzalez (CHI)
11. Marin Cilic (CRO)
12. Nikolay Davydenko (RUS)
13. Robin Soderling (SWE)
14. Gael Monfils (FRA)
15. Marat Safin (RUS)
16. Tommy Robredo (ESP)
Top 16 womens seeds:
1. Dinara Safina (RUS)
2. Serena Williams (USA)
3. Venus Williams (USA)
4. Elena Dementieva (RUS)
5. Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS)
6. Jelena Jankovic (SRB)
7. Vera Zvonareva (RUS)
8. Victoria Azarenka (BLR)
9. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)
10. Nadia Petrova, (RUS)
11. Agnieszka Radwanska (POL)
12. Marion Bartoli (FRA)
13. Ana Ivanovic (SRB)
14. Dominika Cibulkova (SVK)
15. Flavia Pennetta (ITA)
16. Zheng Jie (CHN)
Comment 1 - 3 of 3
Who's the ugly guy in the picture at the top of the page?
Serena went to Australia open two years as a qualifier and won the title so who cares about the ranking. Dinara has good record this year although she has failed to win the Slam. At the end of the tournament whoever wins will be the one with money and praise but not the one with top ranking.
What a joke that the grass-hating, Majorless Safina is the women's top seed!
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