London  - With the final decision on staging a Wimbledon title defence yet to be made due to the poor state of his knees, Rafael Nadal could also soon be feeling the pain on court after being handed a difficult draw Friday for the Wimbledon Championships.

Should the world number one Spaniard decide later to take to the court starting Monday, his first task will be getting past grass-tough veteran Frenchman Arnaud Clement in the first round

The 2008 quarter-finalist comes in after two first-round losses on the surface, but could still be a threat to a not-quite-fit Nadal. Should the top seed pass that encounter, he could run into 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt in the second round.

Nadal was due to decide Friday whether he could front up for the Grand Slam after looking off his best on Thursday as he lost to Hewitt in an exhibition at Hurlingham Club. He was facing Swiss Stan Wawrinka later in a final attempt to determine the true state of a painful of knee plagued with tendinitis.

Also in his half of the draw is a potential challenge in the form of two-time Wimbledon finalist Andy Roddick, himself recovering from a mild ankle roll last week.

Five-time champion Roger Federer, seeded second, will start in the first round as he bids to seize his title back from Nadal against Taiwan's Lu Yen-hsun.

Federer's hurdles on the grass could also include the man he beat for the French Open title, Swede Robin Soderling.

Home hopes for third seed Andy Murray are huge at this edition, marking the centenary of the birth of Fred Perry, last Briton to lift the crown back in 1936.

Murray comes in fresh after winning at Queen's club and setting another British record, opening his campaign against American Robert Kendrick.

Five-time champion and women's holder Venus Williams takes the third seeding behind number one Dinara Safina and Serena Williams.

Venus starts against Swiss minnow Stefanie Voegele and could face Russia's Safina in the semi-finals. Safin plays Spaniard Lourdes Dominguez Lino and Serena Williams opens with Portuguese qualifier Neuza Silva.

French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, seeded fifth and without a grass win coming into the major, will first face Japan's Akiko Morigami.(dpa)