Is Rafael Nadal ready for a third Wimbledon title?

"The only thing I can say is that all the classic matches are because you played a lot of matches in very important circumstances between each other, no? That happens a lot of times with Roger, a lot of Grand Slam finals, a lot of Masters 1000s, competing for very important tournaments in our careers.

"But with Novak we start to have all of this, too. It's great. I feel very lucky to be part of these two rivalries."

Djokovic and Federer, both on the opposite side of the draw from Nadal, were scheduled to play opening matches Monday. Djokovic was to face former No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero, while Federer was to play Albert Ramos.

Federer's match was on Court 1 — the first time since 2003 that he wasn't assigned to Centre Court for the opening round. That's one sign of slippage for the 16-time Grand Slam champion, but his four tournament championships this year suggest he remains a title threat, especially on grass.

Nadal was mislabeled a clay-court specialist by some early in his career, and his first four major titles came at the French Open. But he ended Federer's streak of five consecutive Wimbledon titles when they met in the 2008 final, and won the tournament again in 2010.

Nadal has reached the final each of the past five times he entered Wimbledon, finishing runner-up once to Djokovic and twice to Federer.

"I always loved this place. I always loved this surface," Nadal said.

He completed a career Grand Slam by winning the Australian Open in 2009 and the U.S. Open in 2010. He has 11 major titles at age 26, and only three men have won more — Federer (16), Pete Sampras (14) and Roy Emerson (12).

Nadal said plenty of dangerous players lurk in the draw, and he mentioned David Ferrer, Tomas Berdych, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Milos Raonic. But most likely the final will offer a familiar matchup: Nadal against Djokovic, or Nadal against Federer.

Which rivalry carries more historical heft? Nadal declined to guess.

"We'll see," he said, "at the end of our careers."

IN PICTURES: Celebrities Wimbledon

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.

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