19 Jun 2014

Murray gets seeding boost for Wimbledon defence

1:38 pm on 19 June 2014

Andy Murray's defence of his Wimbledon title has been boosted after the Scot was bumped up to third seed, meaning he won't face Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal or Roger Federer until the semis.

World number five Murray was hoisted up the pecking order thanks to Wimbledon's unique seeding policy for the men's singles, which takes into account recent grasscourt results.

Twice former champion Rafael Nadal, the world No.1, is the number two seed, paying the price for failing to get past the second round in the last two years, and Novak Djokovic, who Murray beat in last year's final, is the top seed.

Seven-times champion Federer of Switzerland was named as the fourth seed, meaning neither he nor Djokovic, Nadal or Murray can face each other before the semi-finals.

World number one Serena Williams is the women's number one, followed by Li Na and the French Open runner-up Simona Halep.