Andy Murray
Second Seed Andy Murray could meet firth seed Rafael Nadal in the last eight of Wimbledon. (Reuters)

Andy Murray has been named as the second seed for the Wimbledon men's singles, putting him on to a collision course with Rafael Nadal in the quarter finals.

The Spaniard is seeded fifth for next week's major behind David Ferrer who is ahead of him in the ATP rankings, despite Nadal thrashing his compatriot in the final of the French Open at Roland Garros to lift his eighth Paris title.

Nadal's seed means he could be in line for a clash with a tournament favourite in the last eight, with world number 1 Novak Djokovic, Murray and the defending champion Roger Federer all in contention for a meeting in the quarter final when the draw is made this Friday.

The two-time Wimbledon champion has slid down the rankings since his second round defeat to the unfancied Lukas Rosol at SW19 last year, before missing seven months as he recuperated from a persistent knee injury.

Since returning in February, Nadal has been in rampant form, claiming seven wins from nine events.

But the nature of Wimbeldon's seeding methods is at odds with the Spaniard's recent resurgence. A formula which takes into consideration an individual's performance on grass over the last two years disadvantages Nadal, with his previous successes at the tournament having no bearing on this year's seeds.

Fresh off her own success at Roland Garros, Serena Williams will begin the defence of her Wimbledon crown as the tournament's top female seed.

Victoria Azarenka takes second seed, while Williams' French Open final opponent Maria Sharapova takes third ahead of Agnieszka Radwanska.

Five time singles champion Venus Williams has been forced to pull out of the tournament at SW19 due to a persistent back injury that saw her withdraw from the doubles in Paris at the end of last month.