LONDON: Andy Murray has backed Wimbledon's unique seeding system after he was given a ranking rise that could aid his defence of the men's singles title.

Murray, who starts his bid to retain the Wimbledon crown against Belgium's David Goffin on Monday, was seeded third despite being ranked fifth in the world, meaning his path to the latter stages of the tournament is less daunting than it might have been.

That two-place advantage, owing to Wimbledon's decision to change their seedings based on each player's record on grasscourts, means Murray cannot face tournament favourite Novak Djokovic until the last four and world number one Rafael Nadal until the final.

Switzerland's Stan Wawrinka, the world number three who won the Australian Open earlier this year, is the biggest loser as his seeding drops to fifth to accommodate Murray, as well as Roger Federer, who moves up to fourth.

Wimbledon's seeding system is different to the other three Grand Slams, who all use the ATP Tour rankings to decide seeds, prompting some critics to suggest they should fall in line with the Australian, French and US Opens.

But Murray, the first British man to win Wimbledon for 77 years, disagrees.

"To be honest I think the way they do it is correct with the seedings," Murray said.

"Some people might say that because my seeding's obviously moved up, but there are so few tournaments on grass now that there are so few points up for grabs on the surface that it is in a way a specialist surface.

"Not many guys, some guys like (Tommy) Robredo for example will only play one tournament a year on grass.

"So I think it is relevant the way the players perform on it, in terms of the seedings and how deep guys can go in the event.

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Tennis: Murray defends Wimbledon seeding boost

Andy Murray has defended Wimbledon's unique seeding system, even though the reigning champion is the chief beneficiary.

Andy Murray has backed Wimbledon's unique seeding system ahead of Friday's competition draw

Britain's double grand slam winner will learn who his opening opponent in his Wimbledon defence will be in Friday morning's draw.

The 27-year-old is ranked fifth in the world, but seeded third by the Wimbledon organising committee, who take grass court records into account to develop their own tournament favourites.

The Scottish Olympic champion's third seeding means he cannot face top two seeds Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal until the semi-finals, and fourth favourite and seven-time tournament winner Roger Federer until the final.

Murray said he would back Wimbledon's system even if he did not stand to benefit.

"To be honest I think the way they do it is correct with the seedings," said Murray.

"Some people might say you would say that because my seeding's obviously moved up, but there are so few tournaments on grass now that there are so few points up for grabs on the surface that it is in a way a specialist surface.

"Not many guys, some guys like (Tommy) Robredo for example will only play one tournament a year on grass.

"So I think it is relevant the way the players perform on it, in terms of the seedings and how deep guys can go in the event.

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Murray defends SW19 seeding system

Updated: Friday, 20 Jun 2014 18:05 | Comments Andy Murray will begin the defence of his title against Belgium's David Goffin

Andy Murray has defended Wimbledon's unique seeding system that will allow him to avoid top-seed Novak Djokovic until the semi-finals.

Murray will start the defence of his Wimbledon title by facing 23-year-old Belgian David Goffin in the first round.

The double grand slam winner is Wimbledon's number-three seed despite being ranked fifth in the world.

That two-place advantage, owing to Wimbledon's grass record-weighted seedings, means he cannot face tournament favourite Djokovic until the last four - and second seed Rafael Nadal until the final.

"To be honest I think the way they do it is correct with the seedings," said Murray.

"Some people might say that because my seeding's obviously moved up, but there are so few tournaments on grass now that there are so few points up for grabs on the surface that it is in a way a specialist surface.

"There are so few tournaments on grass now that in a way it is a specialist surface" - Andy Murray

"Not many guys, some guys like (Tommy) Robredo for example will only play one tournament a year on grass.

"So I think it is relevant the way the players perform on it, in terms of the seedings and how deep guys can go in the event.

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Andy Murray defends Wimbledon seeding

After finally taking home the Wimbledon title last year, will Andy Murray be able to defend it? (Steve Bardens/Getty Images)

How well and how quickly can the games best transition from clay to grass? With Wimbledon set to begin on June 23, we take stock of the men and women who made the quarterfinals or better at the French Open to determine which players to buy, sell and hold.

Rafael Nadal: Sell. The French Open champion crashed out of the Gerry Weber Open to No. 85Dustin Brown in his opening round, which was no surprise or cause for panic after the quick turnaround from Roland Garros. But the 28-year-old Spaniard has now lost his last three matches on grass dating to his stunning second-round defeat to Lukas Rosol at Wimbledon in 2012. Nadal could win Wimbledon for the third time I wouldnt bet against it but so much of it is draw dependent.Given his vulnerability in the early rounds, Ideither hold him for the short term or sell him for the long term. Its just a matter of time before he relinquishes the No. 1 ranking to Novak Djokovic, and he has winners points to defend at Canada, Cincinnati and the U.S. Open over the summer.

Maria Sharapova: Hold. Because she won her maiden Grand Slam title at 17 by beating Serena Williams on the Wimbledon grass, its easy to fall into the trap of thinking that Sharapova is a force on faster surfaces. But since that victory, in 2004, shes reached only one Wimbledon final, losing to Petra Kvitova in 2011. In fact, shes advanced past the fourth round just once since 2006. Her serve is no longer a weapon on grass in fact, its a liability and Im inclined to sell her now and reassess after the U.S. Open, where, again, she hasnt made a final since she won it in 2006.That said, she has just one match win to defend for the rest of the season, and she lost in the second round of Wimbledon last year. So if youre looking to capitalize on a rankings jump,hold for the rest of the season.

Novak Djokovic: Buy. The Serb rebounded well after his disappointing loss to Nadal in the French Open semifinals last year, making the Wimbledon final and losing to Andy Murray. I expect him to do the same this year. His defending is impeccable on grass, and if not for that draining five-set win over Juan Martin del Potro in the semifinals last year, who knows what would have happened in the final? Djokovic, 27, feels due for a Slam win, having falling short in the last five.

Simona Halep: Hold. Halep has no Wimbledon results to speak of: Shes never even advanced to the third round in three attempts. But she had never surpassed the second round of Roland Garros before this year either, when she coasted to the final. The new No. 3 has won a title on grass (last year in Rosmalen, the Netherlands), and her high seeding could give her some cushion against easier opposition through the early rounds. But her serve is attackable, and if she pulls a nightmare draw against a zoning offensive-minded player, she could lose early.

Andy Murray: Hold. Its hard to know how Murray will handle the pressure of defending his Wimbledon title. Add to that the potential distraction of having to answer question after question about new coach Amelie Mauresmo. After his run to the semifinals of the French Open, Im assuming that his price is pretty high, so Id hold him and see how it turns out. Looking more long term, Murray is definitely a buy. Sure, he has a massive amount of points to defend at Wimbledon, but he didnt do much after winning the title last year. The rest of the season is a big opportunity for him to pick up points.

Eugenie Bouchard: Hold. The 12th-ranked Bouchard is the only woman to make the semifinals of both majors this year, and shes not allergic to grass. She won the junior Wimbledon title only two years ago, and her first significant Slam success came last year at the All England Club, where she knocked out Ana Ivanovic in the secondround. In many ways, the 20-year-old Bouchard is still an unknown quantity. We simply dont have a complete data set on a player who is in her second full year on tour. But Bouchard has shown she can handle the big occasion well, and shell benefit from a higherseeding.

Ernests Gulbis: Buy. Im going out on a limb here. Gulbis is a high-risk buy given his lack of success on grass he lost to Kenny De Schepperin his opening round of Queens this week and his loopy forehand should, theoretically, be a disaster on the surface. All that is balanced against his booming serve, deft touch and the fact that hes a completely different player now compared to the one in years past. If he receives a good draw, he could be this years Jerzy Janowicz. In the long term, hes in good position to qualify for the ATP World Tour Finals, sitting at No. 7 in the Race to London standings. Hes on the rise.

Andrea Petkovic: Sell. Petkovic would tell you herself to sell. Grass is her least favorite surface by far, though she did play better last year, when she lost to Sloane Stephens 8-6 in the third set of the Wimbledon second round. Still, considering her high value coming out of the French Open, where she made her first major semifinal, it would be best to take the profit now and reassess midsummer.

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2014 Wimbledon: Buy/Sell/Hold

Novak Djokovic won Wimbledon in 2011, made the semis in 12 and lost the final in 13. (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

Rafael Nadal may be the No. 1 player in the world, but that doesnt mean hell be the No. 1 seed at Wimbledon.

The All England Club doesnt merely adhere to the ATP Tour rankings to determine the 32 seeds. Instead, Wimbledon uses a formula which is applied only for the men that rewards players for their grass-court achievements. Simon Cambers of The Tennis Space has crunched the numbers to conclude the following for this years tournament: Novak Djokovic, who is ranked No. 2, will be the top seed.

Here is how the top five seeds shape up, according to Chambers:

1. Novak Djokovic (ATP ranking: 2) 2. Rafael Nadal (1) 3. Andy Murray (5) 4. Roger Federer (4) 5. Stan Wawrinka (3)

The All England Clubs seeding formula takes a players ATP ranking as of June 16 (the week before Wimbledon), adds all points earned on grass in the previous 12 months and includes 75 percent of points earned from his best grass-court event in the 12 months before that. (The Tennis Space uses ATP rankings as of June 9 and notes that this weeks results at grass-court tune-ups wont alter the projected seedings.)

This system explains Murrays anticipated bump from No. 5 in the ATP rankings to No. 3 seed at the third major of the year: He won Wimbledon and Queens Club last season and made the Wimbledon final in 2012. A No. 3 seed is significant for Murray, who wont have to face a top four player in the quarterfinals.

Wimbledon plans to announce the seeds next Wednesday. The tournament starts on June 23.

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Novak Djokovic poised to be top seed at Wimbledon despite No. 2 ranking

Second-ranked Novak Djokovic was made top seed at next weeks Wimbledon tennis championships, while world No. 1 Rafael Nadal was relegated to second.

Spains Nadal, who won a record ninth French Open title earlier this month by beating Djokovic of Serbia in the final, wont be top seed at the All England Club because of his record on grass over the past two years.

Five-time champion Serena Williams is the womens top seed, ahead of Australian Open champion Li Na of China and Romanias Simona Halep. Polands Agnieszka Radwanska, a former Wimbledon finalist, was seeded fourth.

Wimbledon has its own formula for seeding players, unlike the other three majors, which follow the rankings of the mens ATP World Tour and womens WTA tour. The mens seeds are based on the ATP rankings plus performance on faster grass courts over the past two years. The womens seeding order usually follows the WTA rankings unless organizers need to make a change to balance the draw.

Two-time Wimbledon champion Nadal, 28, last won a match at the tournament in the first round in 2013, before he was upset by Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic. Nadal, a 14-time major champion, lost in the first round last year to Belgiums Steve Darcis.

Rafael Nadal returns a shot during his men's singles final match against Novak Djokovic on day fifteen of the French Open at Roland Garros in Paris, on June 8. Nadal, who won a record ninth French Open title earlier this month by beating Djokovic of Serbia in the final, wont be top seed at the All England Club because of his record on grass over the past two years. Close

Rafael Nadal returns a shot during his men's singles final match against Novak Djokovic... Read More

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Rafael Nadal returns a shot during his men's singles final match against Novak Djokovic on day fifteen of the French Open at Roland Garros in Paris, on June 8. Nadal, who won a record ninth French Open title earlier this month by beating Djokovic of Serbia in the final, wont be top seed at the All England Club because of his record on grass over the past two years.

After winning an unprecedented fifth straight Roland Garros championship on June 8, Nadal went to Halle, Germany, to start his grass-court campaign, only to lose his opening round in straight sets to 78th-ranked Dustin Brown of Germany.

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Djokovic Wimbledon Top Seed as No. 1 Nadal Relegated

Boston, MA (PRWEB) June 10, 2014

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Pearls Premium is a wonderful gift to promote a money and water saving, safe and healthy lawn. Find Pearls Premium grass at some Whole Foods Markets, at many quality garden centers, and online at http://www.PearlsPremium.com. Use promo code DAD2014 when ordering for a 10 percent discount until June 22, 2014.

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Pearls Premium Grass Seed, an Extremely Slow Growing Grass, Offering 10 Percent Discounts for Fathers Day Gifts

Ana Ivanovic, a grand slam winner and seven times a season-end top 20 player reached the first grass court final of her career on Saturday at the Birmingham Open.

The 26-year-old former world number one from Serbia did that with a thumping 6-2 6-2 win over Zhang Shuai, a steadily improving Chinese player contesting her first Premier level event in only her second grass court tournament.

By contrast Ivanovic has been trying to overcome the uncertainties of this surface for most of her career, and claimed she is finally achieving that at the Wimbledon buildup event.

She certainly hit the ball with unstoppable force off the ground, especially from the forehand, and grew conspicuously in confidence as the match went on.

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However that happened only after an indifferent start in which she went 0-2 down

"It was important to stay calm, because it's grass and it can slip away from you fast," she said. "I was happy to stay calm and get back into the match."

She also did so by improving her ratio of first serves, creating a better platform for her ground-stroking power, which in turn made Zhang feel that she had to do more with the ball, bringing more errors.

The 25-year-old from Tianjin sometimes generated the rhythm and the angles which had helped her to three good wins during the week, but found it difficult to reverse the tide of the match once it had turned against her.

After going 0-3 down in the second set Zhang showed brief signs of getting back into it at 2-4, but at that stage Ivanovic found some of her most flowing tennis which almost made her look like a grass court natural.

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Dellacqua reaches Birmingham WTA semis

LOVE IT

Sabine Lisicki

The German, 24, is the closest thing to a grass-court baby you could get. Of her five Wimbledon main-draw appearances, Lisicki has reached the last eight on four occasions, including a semi-final appearance in 2011 and a runners-up finish behind Marion Bartoli last year. She might encapsulate tennis fans worldwide with her beaming smile, but it is her doggedness on the court that has seen her shine on the grass. She beat three major winners on her way to the SW19 final in 2013, what's the bet she becomes one herself in '14?

Zarina Diyas

This Kazakh could be one hell of a surprise packet come Wimbledon. Diyas was 10-2 in grass-court tournaments last year, all three of which she played on the ITF Tour on Japan. While she did not have a top-200 opponent coming up against her, she did beat rising Swiss teenager Belinda Bencic to win the $25,000 tournament in Makinohara. She has won 17 of 23 pro-tour matches on the surface. You can't buy that experience at age 20. One to watch.

Camila Giorgi

The pint-sized Italian has fourth- and third-round appearances at Wimbledon to her name, and she is only 22. While her name has been tarnished by reports she and her camp ripped off people who invested in her, the French resident has gone on her merry way, rising to 50th in the world, and enjoying success on the grass. It has taken an eventual finalist to bring her down at her past two visits to the All England Club, while in 2011, she was ousted by eventual quarter-finalist Tsvetana Pironkova on Wimbledon debut. A kinder draw in London, and Giorgi can do some damage.

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Grass-court season: The women to watch

Hot, rainy weather is nirvana for weeds. Check out my garden if you don't believe me.

The weeds that drive me nuts the rest of the year are familiar, their points of origin clear. Such perennial weeds as Canadian thistle, oxalis, quack grass, plantain, bindweed, wild violet and dock survive no matter how vigorously I went after them the year before.

Annual weeds like dandelions are just as bad. Their seeds blow in from neighboring yards even if mine are all dug up -- not that they ever are. Equally annoying are the acorns that rain down on my garden in late summer and produce wire-stemmed seedlings so tenacious that I have to use pliers to pull them up the following spring.

Then there are the self-seeding annuals and perennials that I planted myself. These include a nonsterile catmint (never again!), cushion spurge, California poppies, creeping Jenny, wild petunias, an heirloom morning glory called Grandpa Ott ... the list goes on.

I like drumstick alliums. I used to love them. I'm not referring to Purple Sensation, a hybrid whose stems are strong enough to hold its flowers aloft. I mean the tall, skinny ones that reproduce so thickly they collapse before a single bud has appeared. Unless given something to lean on -- like an upright sedum or a stout boxwood hedge -- they flower in the prone position.

At first I thought the onions were some native grass I'd invited onto my boulevard strip. On closer inspection, I sniff the same monster that had tried to suffocate the Angelina sedum, English thyme and hardy geraniums on my brick terrace. I must have pulled up thousands -- no, tens of thousands -- of the pea-size bulbs. The best time to weed is after a hard rain, by the way.

I've left most of the Egyptian walking onions alone, even though they've also multiplied many times over since last summer. Their tall grayish-green and -- at this time of year -- erect stems make a bold vertical statement against spreading conifers and creeping sedums.

I know they soon will produce onions at the tips of their tubular stalks and that the onions will cause the stalks to bend under their weight and topple, whereupon another stalk -- this time in a prone position -- will shoot off from the first.

Thus, the plant will begin its stroll through the garden, here and there sprouting new bulbs, roots and plants. Around mid-July, the original stalks will begin to age, turning brown and unattractive. That's when I'll begin to question the wisdom of planting Egyptian walking onions in the first place.

On the other hand, every garden needs its eccentrics.

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Blundering Gardener: Thistles and quackgrass and dandelions - oh, my!