Wimbledon tennis draw: Serena-Gauff share quadrant, Djokovic-Federer separated

June 25 (UPI) -- Americans Serena Williams and Cori "Coco" Gauff could meet early on at Wimbledon 2021, but Roger Federer can't face world No. 1 Novak Djokovic unless they both reach the final, according to Friday's draw.

The third Grand Slam of the tennis season runs from Monday through July 11 at the All England Club in London and is broadcast on ESPN networks.

Wimbledon 2020 was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, but this year's tournament will feature 50% capacity for the earlier rounds and full capacity for the finals.

Djokovic earned the men's top seed at the grass-court Grand Slam. Australia's Ash Barty, the No. 1 player in the WTA rankings, is the top seed on the women's singles circuit.

Djokovic is favored to win a third-consecutive Wimbledon crown. The Serbian owns four of the last six men's singles titles at the All England Club.

French Open runner up Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece, Russian Daniil Medvedev, Switzerland's Federer and Germany's Alexander Zverev are among the other men's favorites.

Third-ranked Spaniard Rafael Nadal, a two-time Wimbledon champion, announced June 17 that he will not participate in the Grand Slam. No. 5 Dominic Thiem of Austria withdrew Thursday due to wrist injury.

No. 3 Simona Halep of Romania, who won Wimbledon 2019, and No. 2 Naomi Osaka of Japan are the top women's players who won't be in London.

Barty is the favorite to win the women's title. Williams, Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, Spain's Garbine Muguruza and Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic are the other women's favorites.

Potential men's matchups

Djokovic starts his run in London with a match against Great Britain's Jack Draper. No. 7 Andrey Rublev of Russia and No. 11 Diego Schwartzman of Argentina share a quadrant with Djokovic, but can't face the Serbian unless they reach the quarterfinals.

Tsitsipas battles American Frances Tiafoe in his first-round match. No. 10 Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain and No. 12 Denis Shapovalov of Canada are the other top players in Tstispas' quadrant.

Federer, Medvedev, No. 13 Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain and No. 21 Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria also share a quadrant. Federer, an eight-time Wimbledon champion, faces France's Adrian Mannarino in the first round.

Medvedev battles Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff in his first match, but could face Croatian Marin Cilic as early as the fourth round.

Zverev shares a quadrant with No. 9 Matteo Berrettini of Italy, but that matchup can't occur until the quarterfinals.

Potential women's matchups

On the women's side, Barty shares half of the draw with Williams, No. 5 Elina Svitolina of the Ukraine, No. 7 Bianca Andreescu of Canada, No. 14 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, No. 17 Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic and Gauff (No. 23).

None of those players can face Sabalenka (No. 4), Muguruza (No. 13), No. 18 Maria Sakkari of Greece, No. 9 Iga Swiatek of Poland, No. 6 Sofia Kenin of the United States, No. 12 Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic or No. 10 Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic until the women's final.

Barty shares a quadrant with Krejcikova, the French Open winner. That matchup could occur as early as the fourth round. Barty starts the tournament against Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro. Krejcikova faces Denmark's Clara Tauson in the first round.

Andreescu and Azarenka share a quadrant with Barty and Krejcikova, but wouldn't face either player until the quarterfinals. Azarenka faces Kateryna Kozlova of the Ukraine in the first round. Andreescu battles France's Alize Cornet.

Williams starts her march toward a record-tying 24th Grand Slam title with a first-round match against Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich. If she wins, Williams would face American Bernarda Pera or Japan's Nao Hibino. Williams could face Germany's Angelique Kerber as early as the third round.

Gauff is coming off her deepest run yet at a Grand Slam, reaching the fourth round at Roland Garros. The 17-year-old faces Great Britain's Francesca Jones in his first match in London. Gauff could face No. 11 Belinda Bencic of Sweden as early as the third round.

She could meet Williams for their first career face off if both players advance to the fourth round.

Eleven American players share a quadrant with Pliskova and could meet early in London. Kenin, No. 25 Jessica Pegula, No. 26 Madison Keys, No. 31 Alison Riske, No. 48 Danielle Collins, Ann Li, Kristie Ahn, Sloane Stephens, Madison Brengle, Christina McHale and Lauren Davis are the Americans in the quadrant.

Brengle and McHale battle in a first-round, all-American match. The winner faces Kenin or China's Xinyu Wang in the second round. Kenin can't face Pliskova or Kvitova until the quarterfinals.

Sabalenka faces Romania's Monica Niculescu in the first round and won't face a Top 10 player until at least the quarterfinals. Swiatek shares a quadrant with Sabalenka, but won't face her unless both players win their first four matches.

How to watch

Monday

First round from 6 to 11:30 a.m. EDT on ESPN, 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. EDT on ESPN2

Tuesday

First round from 6 to 11:30 a.m. EDT on ESPN, 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. EDT on ESPN2

Wednesday

Second round from 6 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. EDT on ESPN

Thursday

Second round from 6 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. EDT on ESPN

July 2

Third round from 6 to 11:30 a.m. EDT on ESPN, 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. EDT on ESPN2

July 3