Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer could meet in the semifinals at Wimbledon after being placed in the same half of the draw.
Federer was controversially seeded second ahead of Nadal, the 2019 French Open champion, despite the Spaniard being ranked second in the world ahead of the 20-time Grand Slam winner.
And with top-seeded Novak Djokovic in the same half of the draw as fourth seed Kevin Anderson — the man Djokovic beat in last year's final — a blockbuster last-four clash between Nadal and Federer will be in the offing if both progress to the semis.
For Nadal that is likely to be an especially challenging task. He faces a potential fourth-round meeting with 2017 finalist and 2014 U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic before a possible quarterfinal with Dominic Thiem, who pushed him to four sets in the Roland Garros showpiece.
Nadal will start his tournament against qualifier Yuichi Sugita and could face another tricky test against Nick Kyrgios providing either avoids a first-round upset.
A potential second round encounter...
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 28, 2019
Nick Kyrgios vs Rafael Nadal#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/J5CpFP7KoF
Federer, meanwhile, starts his quest for a ninth singles triumph at the All England Club against South Africa's Lloyd Harris.
World No. 1 Djokovic opens his defense against veteran Philipp Kohlschreiber, as he did in 2015 when the Serbian lifted the trophy.
Djokovic may have to deal with the significant challenge of Stefanos Tsitsipas in the last eight, but of the big three it is Nadal who has the most difficult obstacles blocking his path to the final.