Rod Laver, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal
Apr 2, 2017; Key Biscayne, FL, USA; Rafael Nadal of Spain (L) and Roger Federer of Switzerland (R) hold the finalist and Butch Buchholz trophy, respectively, after their match in the men's singles championship of the 2017 Miami Open at Crandon Park Tennis Center. Federer won 6-3, 6-4. USA TODAY Sports / Geoff Burke

Defending champion Andy Murray has been named the top seed ahead of Wimbledon, which gets underway July 3. For the first time since 2014, the Big Four in men's tennis will headline the Top-4 rankings with Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal seeded behind Murray.

World No. 1 Murray isn't viewed as the odds-on favourite despite winning The Championships on two occasions. Federer and Nadal, the ageless wonders, are entering the third Grand Slam of 2017 with a flurry of momentum and have been touted co-favourites by a large panel of analysts and former players.

According to Odds Checker, Federer (9/4) is the outright favourite to win his eighth Wimbledon title and 19th overall Grand Slam. Murray (4/1), Nadal (5/1) and Djokovic (13/2) have the next best odds.If none of the Big Four suffer an upset before the Round of 4, the tennis world could be treated to clashes featuring Murray vs Federer and Djokovic vs Nadal. The final draw for the 2017 Wimbledon will be announced on Friday.

2017 Wimbledon: Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic low on confidence

Last year, Djokovic suffered a shocking third round exit Sam Querrey after Nadal pulled out of the event with a wrist injury. Murray faced little resistance say for a five-setter against twelfth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarter-finals. Federer lost to Canadian Milos Raonic in a five-setter in the semi-final. Murray coasted to victory in straight sets to become the first Briton in the Open Era to win the Wimbledon on two occasions.

This year, however, Murray won't have an easy path to the championship round. A week after suffering a first-round exit Queen's Club, the Scot pulled out Wednesday's scheduled warm-up tie at the Hurlingham Club due to a sore hip. After a spectacular 2016 when he reached the finals of the first three Grand Slams besides winning the Wimbledon and ATP World Tour Finals, Murray has been dealing with persistent health issues, an elbow injury and a couple of bouts of flu.

Similarly, Djokovic is in the middle of his worst season since 2010. After relinquishing the World No. 1 ranking to Murray, the Serb suffered a second-round exit at the 2017 Australian Open. At the 2017 French Open, Djokovic had no answer for rising Austrian star Dominic Thiem in the quarter-finals as he was blown away in straight sets. After that defeat, analysts wondered if the Serb could ever return to his 2013-2016 form when he achieved all-time great form and nearly surpassed Nadal's Grand Slam tally.

2017 Wimbledon: Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal final on the cards?

The poor form of Djokovic and Murray has given the tennis world reason to root for another Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal Grand Slam final. At the start of the year, the two living legends pushed themselves to the limit in the finals of the Australian Open and it was Federer who clinched Grand Slam No. 18. Federer beat Nadal on two more occasions -- at Indian Wells and Key Biscayne -- but the Spaniard stormed through the 2017 French Open without dropping a set and is playing some of his best tennis in close to half a decade.

After the victory in Miami, Federer detailed the reasons for his improved showing against Nadal in recent years. The Swiss Master has consciously relied on his improved backhand, while standing inside the baseline and attacking the Spaniard in early stages of a game. Incidentally, the very same strategy, which involves enticing Nadal with a series of low backhands, had backfired in the past.

According to Goran Ivanisevic, the 2001 Wimbledon winner, Nadal enters the 2017 Wimbledon as the favourite simply due to his scintillating form in recent months. "Rafa is very mentally strong. At the moment, he’s the best player in the world. It depends on the draw. I would pick Nadal if he passes the first week. Could he be vulnerable in the first week? You never know," said Ivanisevic, suggesting that the Spaniard would be hard to stop in the second of The Championships which run through July 3 and 16.

In recent years, Nadal has had a forgettable run at the hallowed turf of the All-England Tennis Club. He suffered second, first, fourth and second round exits through 2012 to 2015. Last year, Nadal was forced to pull out of The Championships due to a persistent wrist injury. "You look at what happened the last couple of years, he had tough opponents who beat him before in Dustin Brown and Nick Kyrgios But he’s hitting the ball amazingly and it's going to be tough to beat him," added Ivanisevic.

Rafael Nadal last won at Wimbledon when beat Tomas Berdych in the 2010 final. In 2011, he lost to Djokovic in the final. Federer hasn’t gone the distance at the All-England Tennis Club since 2012 when he beat Andy Murray in four sets to clinch Grand Slam No. 17.

Could the tennis world be treated to another Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal final come July 16? The 2017 Wimbledon gets underway on Monday, July 3.

2017 Wimbledon seedings -- Men's Singles

1 Andy Murray (GB), 2 Novak Djokoic (Ser), 3 Roger Federer (Swi), 4 Rafael Nadal (Spa), 5 Stan Wawrinka (Swi), 6 Milos Raonic (Can), 7 Marin Cilic (Cro), 8 Dominic Thiem (Aut), 9 Kei Nishikori (Jpn), 10 Alexander Zverev (Ger), 11 Tomas Berdych (Cze), 12 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (Fra), 13 Grigor Dimitrov (Bul), 14 Lucas Pouille (Fra), 15 Gael Monfils (FRA), 16 Gilles Muller (Lux)

2017 Wimbledon seedings -- Women's Singles

1 Angelique Kerber (Ger), 2 Simona Halep (Rom), 3 Karolina Pliskova (Cze), 4 Elina Svitolina (Ukr), 5 Caroline Wozniacki (Den), 6 Johanna Konta (GB), 7 Svetlana Kuznetsova (Rus), 8 Dominika Cibulkova (Svk), 9 Agnieszka Radwanska (Pol), 10 Venus Williams (US), 11 Petra Kvitova (Cze), 12 Kristina Mladenovic (Fra) 13 Jelena Ostapenko (Lat), 14 Garbine Muguruza (Spa), 15 Elena Vesnina (Rus), 16 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Rus)