Clear road for Novak at SW19

Defending champion Novak Djokovic avoided his three biggest rivals in the Wimbledon draw on Friday as the other members of “Big Four” were all placed on the opposite side.Serena Williams had no such luck in the women’s draw, where she may have to get past a trio of — sister Venus, Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova — just to get to the final.

Former champions Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal were all grouped together in the bottom half of the men’s draw. Murray and Nadal could face each other in the quarterfinals, with Federer possible awaiting the winner in the semis.The bottom half also includes former finalist Tomas Berdych and former semifinalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, leaving Djokovic facing a possible semifinal against Stan Wawrinka.

Djokovic does face a potentially tricky start as he’ll open play on Monday against Philipp Kohlschreiber and could face lleyton Hewitt in the second round. Bernard Tomic, could then await Novak in the third, while Kei Nishikori of Japan is a potential quarterfinal opponent.Murray was given a tough draw, with a potential fourth round clash with Tsonga, Nadal in the quarters, Federer in the semis and Djokovic in the final.