Murray given top billing

Germany's Kerber named top seed in women's category

Defending champion Andy Murray's indifferent form of late did not prevent him being named top seed for Wimbledon for the first time on Wednesday.

The 30-year-old Scot and world number one –– who suffered a shock first round defeat at the hands of journeyman Australian Jordan Thompson at last week's Queen's tournament –– will not face any of his fellow members of the 'Big Four' till the semifinals.

Novak Djokovic, whose form has also taken a turn for the worse, Roger Federer, fresh from winning at Halle, and Rafael Nadal, re-invigorated after triumphing at the French Open, are seeded in the top four meaning it is the first time since Wimbledon in 2014 the quartet have been the top four seeds at a Grand Slam event.

Djokovic –– a two time Wimbledon champion –– and seven-time champion Federer both benefit from Wimbledon organisers habit of not sticking blindly to the world rankings.

Djokovic is raised to second seed despite being world ranked four and the Swiss master is promoted to third seed from a global ranking of five with second-ranked Nadal dropping down to fourth seed.
World number three Stan Wawrinka –– overwhelmed by Nadal in the French Open final –– has never reached the last four at Wimbledon and drops to fifth seeding.

Kerber top seed
The women's draw sees world number one and last year's beaten finalist Angelique Kerber of Germany top the seedings with Romania's French Open finalist Simona Halep, Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic and Ukrainian Elina Svitolina rounding up the top four.

Defending champion Serena Williams is absent as she awaits giving birth to her first child. In her absence, the French Open wore an open look, with rank outsider Jelena Ostapenko storming through the draw to claim the title. Despite that win, she has been seeded 13th.

Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova is seeded 11 and provided she recovers from an abdominal injury, could provide a fairytale winner after suffering severe wounds to her left hand while fighting off a knife-wielding burglar at her home last December.