Djokovic to start Wimbledon defence against Kohschreiber

Top seed and defending champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia will kick off his Wimbledon run against Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany, according to the draw conducted on Friday.

Eight-time champion Roger Federer of Switzerland, second seed, will start his bid for record-extending 21st Grand Slam title against Lloyd Harris of South Africa, Efe news reports.

Spaniard Rafael Nadal, a two-time champion at All England Club, who has been seeded No 3 despite being world No 2 is set to take on Yuichi Sugita of Japan.

In the second round, Nadal, who has recently won his record extending 12th French Open title, could face Nick Kyrgios of Australia, who could be a tricky opponent on grass court.

Kyrgios has won the lone grass court match he played against Nadal in the 2014 Wimbledon last-16 and he also prevailed over the Spaniard in the most recent encounter between both in the 2019 Mexican Open round of 16.

The Australian is set to play his countryman Jordan Thompson on their opener.

In a potential quarterfinal clash, Nadal could play Dominic Thiem of Austria, with the winner facing off against the victor of a projected last-8 encounter pitting Kei Nishikori of Japan versus Federer.

Should both make it that far, Djokovic is scheduled to take on Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece in the quarterfinal, the first grass-court match between them.

Tsitsipas defeated Djokovic in their hard-court match in the 2018 Rogers Cup round of 16, while the Serb got revenge on clay in the second and most recent encounter between them in the 2019 Madrid Open final.

The other projected quarterfinal encounter will pit Alexander Zverev of Germany, who seeks his maiden Grand Slam title, against Kevin Anderson of South Africa, the 2018 runner-up to Djokovic.

Fresh off winning the singles and doubles Queen's titles - teaming up with Briton Andy Murray in the doubles - Spaniard Feliciano Lopez will square off against Marcos Girón of the United States.

The 37-year-old Lopez, who takes part in the tournament as he was granted a wild card, decided to skip the Eastbourne International to be at his best at Wimbledon.

Wimbledon, the third Grand Slam event of the season, is to get underway on July 1 for two weeks.

( With inputs from IANS )