Wimbledon: Nadal not amused about possible downgrade

Rafa Nadal has criticised Wimbledon's seeding process and said the tournament would be disrespecting his status by switching him and Roger Federer around ahead of the tournament.

Nadal, twice a Wimbledon champion, is the world number two after winning a 12^th French Open but due to Wimbledon’s policy of seeding players based on ranking and past performances Federer, who has been champion at the All England club a record eight times, could be elevated to second seed.

That would potentially hand Nadal a semi-final against world number one and defending champion Djokovic and leave Federer with a theoretically easier route to the final with Dominic Thiem, a player who prefers clay and has never been past the fourth round at Wimbledon, likely to be seeded four at Wimbledon.

The Spaniard believes Wimbledon should fall in line with the rest of the tournaments on the ATP Tour and following the rankings.

Nadal: "I will accept being three if they see it that way"

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"I think it's the usual thing," he told Movistar Plus. "Wimbledon is the only tournament of the year that they do what they want in that sense, with their own criteria.

"Whether I'm two or three, I'll have to play at my best. I will accept being three if they see it that way and I will fight to try to win my matches.

"The only thing that does not seem right to me about this story is that it is only Wimbledon that does it, only one tournament.

"It has not only happened to me, it has happened to other players. They do not respect the status that some players have earned throughout the season."

The US open did take the liberty of upgrading Serena Williams last year after the former number one’s layoff following the birth of her daughter, but that was a reasonably innocuous hike from her ranking 26 to 17^th seed.

Nadal reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon last year, losing a five-set epic to Djokovic, the Spaniard’s best performance since losing in the 2011 final.