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Wimbledon draw: Federer handed a stern test

London: Roger Federer will have to get past Novak Djokovic before a probable Wimbledon final showdown with his arch-rival Rafael Nadal.

Federer begins his bid for a sixth Wimbledon title against Slovakia’s Dominik Hrbaty, while Nadal faces a first round clash against Germany’s Andreas Beck.

But it is a scheduled semifinal clash with Australian Open champion Djokovic, who beat Federer in the last four in Melbourne, that will set pulses racing.

Federer, the defending champion and top seed, will have to extend his 59-match unbeaten run on grass first, starting with unseeded Hrbaty, who has won their only two previous meetings.

The Swiss World No. 1 could play Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt — the last man before Federer to win Wimbledon back in 2002 — if they both make it to the fourth round. But Hewitt, who starts against Robin Hasse of the Netherlands, would probably have to get past 15th seed Fernando Gonzalez first.

Federer is scheduled to play David Ferrer, the Spanish fifth seed, in the quarterfinals before the Djokovic match-up.

French Open champion Nadal is the second seed and can’t play Federer until the final.

Interesting clash

The Spaniard has a probable fourth round clash against Radek Stepanek or Mikhail Youzhny before a quarterfinal with France’s Richard Gasquet, who reached the semifinals at the All-England Club last year.

Nadal is scheduled to meet Nikolay Davydenko in the semifinals, if the Russian fourth seed gets past a likely last eight match-up with Andy Roddick, twice a Wimbledon runner-up.

Djokovic plays Michael Berrer of Germany first and the Serb could face an intriguing second round match against former World No. 1 Marat Safin, with a quarterfinal against David Nalbandian, a former Wimbledon finalist, on the horizon.

In the women’s singles, Ana Ivanovic, the French Open champion and World No. 1, has been handed a first round match against Paraguay’s Rossana de los Rios.

Ivanovic is scheduled to play Russia’s Anna Chakvetadze in the quarterfinals and Serena Williams in the last four, if the American can get past a likely clash with fellow former Wimbledon champion Amelie Mauresmo in the third round and Svetlana Kuznetsova, the fourth seed, in the quarterfinals.

Defending champion Venus Williams starts her challenge for a fifth Wimbledon title against British wildcard Naomi Cavaday and could play Sania Mirza in the third round.

Easy opener for Sania

Sania was handed an easy first round against unseeded Colombian Catalino Castano.

Sania, placed in the last quarter of the draw, goes into the match with a 1-0 win-loss advantage against her 28-year-old rival.

If Sania gets past the first hurdle, she would take on the winner of the match between German Martina Muller and Spaniard Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez. — Agencies

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