'Big 4' men's players get tough quarterfinal draws at Wimbledon

In this April 2, 2017, file photo, Roger Federer, of Switzerland, hits a return to Rafael Nadal, of Spain, during the men's singles final at the Miami Open tennis tournament, in Key Biscayne, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

LONDON -- The "Big 4" got a tough draw at Wimbledon.

Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, the only four men to win the Wimbledon title over the last 14 years and the top four seeded players this year, all could face difficult opponents in the quarterfinals.

Federer, who is looking for a record eighth title at the All England Club, could meet 2016 finalist Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont., in the quarterfinals before facing either Djokovic or Dominic Thiem in the semifinals. Defending champion Murray could have to beat Stan Wawrinka before possibly facing Nadal. The French Open champion will have to beat Marin Cilic in the quarterfinals.

The toughest draw might have been given to Djokovic, a three-time champion at the All England Club. Struggling since winning last year's French Open, the Serb has a potential third-round match against Juan Martin del Potro. The 2009 U.S. Open champion beat Djokovic in the first round at last year's Olympics. Djokovic, however, has won all three head-to-head matches this year.

The top-ranked Murray has been bothered by a sore hip recently and withdrew from a pair of exhibition matches this week. He will open the tournament against lucky loser Alexander Bublik.

Raonic, the No. 6 seed, will take on world No. 50 Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany in the first round. Vasek Pospisil of Vancouver will open against Thiem, the world No. 8 from Austria.

Wild-card entry Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., will make his Grand Slam main draw debut against Poland's Jerzy Janowicz.

Federer last won the Wimbledon title in 2012, but he has been having a stellar year this season, already winning the Australian Open. He will open against Alexandr Dolgopolov.

In other opening matches, Djokovic will face Martin Klizan and Nadal will take on John Millman.

In the women's draw, top-ranked Angelique Kerber could meet third-seeded Karolina Pliskova or fifth-seeded Caroline Wozniacki in the semifinals. And Simona Halep, seeded second, could face fourth-seeded Elina Svitolina at the same stage.

Eugenie Bouchard of Westmount, Que., will open against Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain.

Montreal's Francoise Abanda and Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ont., won their final qualifying matches to earn main draw spots. Abanda will meet Japan's Kurumi Nara and Andreescu will take on Slovakia's Kristina Kucova.

Johanna Konta, seeded sixth and Britain's hope for a first women's champion since Virginia Wade in 1977, pulled out of the Wimbledon warm-up tournament in Eastbourne on Friday with what British Tennis called a "thoracic spine injury." She could face Halep in the quarterfinals.

Venus Williams, a five-time champion who will be appearing at Wimbledon for the 20th time, is seeded 10th and could face eighth-seeded Dominika Cibulkova in the fourth round and Svitolina in the quarterfinals.

On Thursday, a police report in Florida said Williams caused a car crash in early June that led to the death of a passenger in another vehicle.

Williams reached the Australian Open final this year, losing to younger sister Serena in the final. Serena Williams is skipping Wimbledon this year because she is pregnant.

In doubles, the 13th-seeded duo of Toronto's Daniel Nestor and Fabrice Martin of France will open against Brazil's Thomaz Bellucci and Rogerio Dutra Silva. Pospisil and Julien Benneteau of France will take on Argentina's Diego Schwartzman and Nicolas Kicker.

Adil Shamasdin of Pickering, Ont., and Leander Paes of India will open against Austria's Julian Knowle and Philipp Oswald.

The mixed doubles draw will be released Wednesday.

Ottawa's Gabriela Dabrowski became the first Canadian woman to win a Grand Slam title when she won the French Open mixed doubles title on June 8. Dabrowski and Rohan Bopanna of India defeated Anna-Lena Groenefeld of Germany and Robert Farah of Colombia in the final.