Wimbledon 2018: Roger Federer will start his campaign against Dusan Lajovic

Rafael Nadal, the second-seeded Spaniard, also learned his first-round opponent during the Friday morning ceremony at the All England Club: Israel's Dudi Sela

Roger Federer / AFP

Defending champion Roger Federer will begin his quest for a record by extending the ninth Wimbledon title when he faces Dusan Lajovic in the first round on Monday. The 36-year-old Swiss seeded and world number 2, who beat this Serbian player en route to the title of last year, could later face two dangerous Croatians in his half of the table, reports L & # 39; EFE news agency. Borna Coric, who upset Federer at the Gerry Weber Open last week in Halle, Germany, is a potential fourth-round opponent, while Marin Cilic, seeded third in last year, is a potential threat in the semifinal. finals. Second seeded Spanish and world number one Rafael Nadal also learned his opponent in the first round Friday morning at the All England Club: Dudi Sela, from Israel. The quarterfinals of Wimbledon since 2011, has several potentially dangerous rivals in its draw section. The German Mischa Zverev, one of the few tennis and service practitioners, could be Nadal's opponent in the third round. If Nadal qualifies for the last eight of this Grand Slam on turf, the potential hurdles include Argentine Juan Martin del Potro and Scottish double champion Andy Murray.

A place in the semifinal could mean a match – Novak Djokovic three-time Serbian champion; Australian Nick Kyrgios, a great hitter; or third German Alexander Zverev. On the women's side, reigning Spanish champion Garbiñe Muguruza will begin his quest for a second title at Wimbledon against Naomi Broady of the United Kingdom.

Muguruza was ranked in the same half of the table Semente Simona Halep, the Russian No. 24 and 2004 Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova and the eighth Czech and Petra Kvitova, two-time champion at the All England Club. The other half of the table may have been the most intriguing player of Wimbledon this year, the American Serena Williams, who has won this tournament seven times but has played only a handful of events since her return from maternity leave. Despite being ranked No. 183, she was ranked number 25 by tournament organizers in recognition of all her past success.

Among his toughest rivals in the bottom half of the draw is his older sister Venus Williams, the No. 9 seed and second runner-up last year; American Sloane Stephens, fourth seed; American Madison Keys, 10th seed; Czech Karolina Pliskova, seventh seed; and Dane Caroline Wozniacki, second seed. Williams can equal Australian tennis legend Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slam victories by winning this year's Wimbledon, which runs from July 2 to July 15.

See also: Retirement? Roger Federer lets the family decide

Catch up on all the latest sports news and updated here. Download also the new applications mid-day Android and iOS to get the latest updates

This story was powered by a feed syndicated third-party agencies. Except for the change of title, the story has been provided "AS IS", "AS AVAILABLE", without any verification or editing on our part.The mid-day disclaims any liability for its reliability, reliability, reliability and its data. text management mid-day.com reserves the exclusive right to modify, delete or delete (without notice) the content in its sole discretion for any reason whatsoever