Reigning Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic has offered words of support for rival Rafael Nadal after the Spanish star criticized the criteria used for Wimbledon that looks set to see him drop down the tournament's seed list.
The world-famous grass-court tournament gets underway at the All-England Club on Monday, with Nadal set to suffer from the unique approach to the seedings taken by Wimbledon tournament organizers.
It is expected that Swiss star and eight-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer will be seeded ahead of Nadal in this year's Wimbledon seedings, despite the fact he sits one place and some 1,300 points behind the Spaniard in the ATP rankings.
READ MORE: Wimbledon 2019: Sweeping rule changes implemented for 133rd edition of tournament
The official seedings are unveiled on Wednesday, and if Nadal is seeded at No.3, as expected, it would likely mean he will have to defeat both eight-time winner Federer and four-time champion Djokovic in order to claim his third Wimbledon title.
"Wimbledon is the only tournament of the year that doesn't follow the ranking," Nadal told Spanish TV station #Vamos on Tuesday.
"It's their choice. Either way, being second or third seed, I have to play at the best level to aspire to the things I aspire to. It is better to be second than third, but if they consider that I have to be third I will accept.
"I don't think it's a good thing that Wimbledon is the only one with its own seeding formula."
The Spanish star received backing from one of his biggest rivals, with Novak Djokovic saying he sympathized with Nadal's views.
"It's their rules and you have to respect it although it's a little bit surprising, to be honest," he told Reuters.
"Roger is the greatest of all time and has won the most Wimbledon titles of any player in history and if any player deserves it it's him.
"But, at the same time, it's Nadal that he is taking over (from as) the second seed so it's surprising, to be honest."
Wimbledon's seeding process takes the world's top 32 players from the ATP rankings, but organizers then apply a formula that places greater emphasis on performances in grass-court tournaments over the previous two years to adjust the order.
It's a unique approach that doesn't sit well with clay-court specialist NadaRead More – Source
Reigning Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic has offered words of support for rival Rafael Nadal after the Spanish star criticized the criteria used for Wimbledon that looks set to see him drop down the tournament's seed list.
The world-famous grass-court tournament gets underway at the All-England Club on Monday, with Nadal set to suffer from the unique approach to the seedings taken by Wimbledon tournament organizers.
It is expected that Swiss star and eight-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer will be seeded ahead of Nadal in this year's Wimbledon seedings, despite the fact he sits one place and some 1,300 points behind the Spaniard in the ATP rankings.
READ MORE: Wimbledon 2019: Sweeping rule changes implemented for 133rd edition of tournament
The official seedings are unveiled on Wednesday, and if Nadal is seeded at No.3, as expected, it would likely mean he will have to defeat both eight-time winner Federer and four-time champion Djokovic in order to claim his third Wimbledon title.
"Wimbledon is the only tournament of the year that doesn't follow the ranking," Nadal told Spanish TV station #Vamos on Tuesday.
"It's their choice. Either way, being second or third seed, I have to play at the best level to aspire to the things I aspire to. It is better to be second than third, but if they consider that I have to be third I will accept.
"I don't think it's a good thing that Wimbledon is the only one with its own seeding formula."
The Spanish star received backing from one of his biggest rivals, with Novak Djokovic saying he sympathized with Nadal's views.
"It's their rules and you have to respect it although it's a little bit surprising, to be honest," he told Reuters.
"Roger is the greatest of all time and has won the most Wimbledon titles of any player in history and if any player deserves it it's him.
"But, at the same time, it's Nadal that he is taking over (from as) the second seed so it's surprising, to be honest."
Wimbledon's seeding process takes the world's top 32 players from the ATP rankings, but organizers then apply a formula that places greater emphasis on performances in grass-court tournaments over the previous two years to adjust the order.
It's a unique approach that doesn't sit well with clay-court specialist NadaRead More – Source
