On a lower key

The seedings at Wimbledon are based on ATP rankings as well as the players performance on grass. Nadal was seeded fifth,a fallout of his second-round ouster in the last edition and his subsequent seven-month injury lay-off. So the lopsided draw was more or less inevitable. However,there may have been too little premium placed on current form and tournament history. After all,Nadal has,by far,the best win-loss record this year 43-2,compared to Djokovics 33-5 and Federers 26-7 and is the French Open champion. The Spaniard is also a two-time winner at Wimbledon,with the first of his titles coming when he beat Federer in what is generally seen to be the greatest Grand Slam final ever,in 2008. For Nadal or Federer to win the title at Wimbledon,it will take beating three of the big four. Djokovic may just have to beat one.

A skewed draw at the just-concluded French Open saw the Nadal-Djokovic semifinal overshadow the one-sided final between Nadal and David Ferrer. Television ratings for the title clash were significantly lower than that of the semifinal and previous finals. Its great to watch gifted players pit their wits against each other. But it makes for a greater spectacle when the stakes are the highest.