Federer seeks golden tonic
2008-07-25 09:30
London - Roger Federer's crown has lost its lustre and a shiny medal of Olympic gold would be very welcome for the king of men's tennis.
After being thrashed by Rafael Nadal in the French Open
final, the Swiss maestro lost again at Wimbledon to the Spaniard
who won a five-set epic on Federer's Centre Court fortress.
The world number one turns 27 on the day of the Beijing
opening ceremony and he will have to rediscover his A-game after
also suffering a surprise defeat in the Toronto Masters to
France's Gilles Simon.
Nadal is again lurking in the strongest field at an Olympic
tournament since it returned to the Games in 1988.
The top five men in the world and seven of the top 10 women
will gather in Beijing. Women's champion Justine Henin retired
this year and Amelie Mauresmo, silver medallist in Athens, is
also absent, with an injury.
Wimbledon champion Venus and sister Serena will start as
favourites to emulate their domination in Sydney eight years ago
when Venus won the singles and then teamed up with her "little"
sister to win the doubles.
"I love the Olympics," Venus said at Wimbledon where she
claimed her seventh grand slam title by beating Serena.
Opening ceremony
"To add to my medal would be amazing. It's probably bigger
than a slam, I think so, definitely."
The highlights of Federer's two previous Olympic Games
amount to meeting his long-standing girlfriend Mirka Vavrinec in
Sydney and carrying the Swiss flag at the opening ceremony in
Athens four years ago.
In 2000 he lost a semi-final to Tommy Haas and then let a
bronze medal slip through his fingers against Frenchman Arnaud
Di Pasquale. Four years later he lost in the second round to
Tomas Berdych.
"Last time was quite disappointing, losing in the second
round but nevertheless, going there was one of the biggest
experiences in life," the Swiss said in Toronto this week.
More used to staying in fancy hotels, Federer appreciates
the special vibe of the Olympic Village and says winning gold in
Beijing would be one of the highlights of his career. It could
also be his last chance.
Nadal said recently Beijing was his third priority behind
the French Open and Wimbledon. With those two in the bag this
year, the 22-year-old will be going full tilt next month.
Despite a hard DecoTurf surface that does not compliment his
game as well as clay or grass, nobody will be better prepared
for the blast-furnace heat expected in Beijing than the dynamic
Spaniard who could oust Federer from the top spot by 2009.
'It's my dream'
The surface suits world number three Novak Djokovic of
Serbia as he demonstrated at Indian Wells this year.
"It's my dream to play at the Olympics," said Djokovic, who
is expected to carry the Serbian flag at the opening ceremony in
his first Games. "It unites all athletes from around the world,
it's very special."
Reigning champion Nicolas Massu, who also partnered Fernando
Gonzales to victory in the doubles in 2004, needed a special ITF
invite and is unlikely to last long.
Zheng Jie's run to the women's semi-finals at Wimbledon has
stoked home hopes of Chinese success. Zheng won the Wimbledon
and Australian Open doubles titles in 2006 with long-time
partner Yan Zi and will be aiming to repeat the feat of Athens
gold medallists Sun Tiantian and Li Ting.
Serbia have high hopes for women's world number one Ana
Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic while Russia have a formidable
quartet of Maria Sharapova, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Elena
Dementieva and Dinara Safina.
- Reuters