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The Wimbledon draw was released Friday and the Big 3 of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, all semifinalists last year, were given favorable paths to advance deep into the tournament. The trio have advanced to the semifinals together in four of the last five Grand Slam tournaments (except '07 US Open) going back to Roland Garros last year.

Five-time defending champion Federer is the top seed at Wimbledon for the fifth consecutive year and the Swiss superstar opens the tournament Monday against veteran Dominik Hrbaty.

Although Federer is 0-2 lifetime against Hrbaty, the former Top 20 Slovakian enters ranked No. 272 after returning from an elbow injury in March. Hrbaty has also only advanced past the first round three times in 11 appearances at Wimbledon.

The first seed Federer could face in the third round is No. 30 Gael Monfils, who reached his first Grand Slam semifinal at Roland Garros earlier this month. In the fourth round, Federer could meet No. 20 Lleyton Hewitt, the only other former Wimbledon champion in the draw, or No. 15 Fernando Gonzalez. Possible quarterfinal opponents include No. 5 David Ferrer, No. 11 Tomas Berdych, No. 22 Fernando Verdasco or No. 32 Michael Llodra. Unseeded Philipp Kohlschreiber, who reached the Halle final last week, losing to Federer, takes on Verdasco in the first round and 2004 Wimbledon semifinalist Mario Ancic, takes on Llodra.

Wimbledon Men's Singles Draw
Tournament Profile: Wimbledon

In the second quarter of the draw, No. 3 Novak Djokovic opens with German Michael Berrer and he could meet former two-time Grand Slam title winner Marat Safin in the second round. Djokovic advanced to the semifinals at Wimbledon last season and he's reached the semis or better in his last five Grand Slam tournaments.

The first seed Djokovic (pictured) could face is No. 29 Andreas Seppi in the third round and either No. 13 Stanislas Wawrinka or No. 21 Juan Carlos Ferrero in the fourth round. In the quarterfinals, No. 7 and 2002 runner-up David Nalbandian, No. 10 Marcos Baghdatis, No. 18 Ivo Karlovic or No. 31 Feliciano Lopez are possible opponents.

The 21-year-old Djokovic is coming off his first career grass court final at the Queen's Club in London last weekend where he lost to Nadal.

In the bottom half of the draw No. 2 Rafael Nadal and No. 6 Andy Roddick are the only former Wimbledon finalists. Nadal reached the final the last two years and Roddick in 2004-05.

In the third section, No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko, who turned in a fourth round performance last year, plays Benjamin Becker in the first round. In the second round he could meet veteran grass court players Jonas Bjorkman or Arnaud Clement. The first seed in Davydenko's section is No. 26 Ivan Ljubicic, who defeated the Russian in the third round at Roland Garros. Possible fourth round opponents include No. 14 Paul-Henri Mathieu and No. 24 Jarkko Nieminen. In the quarterfinals, No. 6 Roddick or No. 9 James Blake, are the highest seeds.

Roddick (pictured) opens with Argentine Eduardo Schwank and he could meet the winner of Janko Tipsarevic-Thierry Ascione in the second round. Roddick's first seeded opponent in the third round is No. 25 Dmitry Tursunov. In the fourth round, Roddick could square off against countryman Blake or No. 19 Nicolas Almagro. Blake, who plays qualifier Christophe Rochus in the first round, has never advanced past the third round at Wimbledon.

In the final quarter of the draw, No. 2 and two-time runner-up Rafael Nadal takes on German qualifier Andreas Beck in the first round. In the second round, he could face towering American John Isner or Roland Garros quarterfinalist Ernests Gulbis. The first seed the Spaniard could face is No. 27 Nicolas Kiefer in the third round. Possible fourth round opponents include No. 16 Radek Stepanek and No. 17 Mikhail Youzhny.

In the quarterfinals, Nadal's possible seeded opponents are No. 8 and last year's semifinalist Richard Gasquet, No. 12 Andy Murray, No. 23 Tommy Robredo or No. 28 Gilles Simon. Nadal has been tested in early rounds the last two years. He came back from a two-sets deficit against American Robert Kendrick in the second round two years ago and last year, prevailed 7-5 in the fifth set over Swede Robin Soderling in the third round.

If Federer and Nadal manage to overcome six opponents in their respective section of the draw for the third straight year, it would mark the first time since 1988-90 that the same two finalists met in three consecutive championships. Stefan Edberg defeated long-time rival Boris Becker in two of the three meetings.