Beijing Olympics 2008

Although the 2008 tennis season is barely four months old, Swiss world No 1 Roger Federer and other leading players are already turning their thoughts toward the Beijing Olympics in August.
For Federer, the Olympic Games is close to the Grand Slams in importance while Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic believes they might rank even higher because they take place only once every four years.
American Lindsay Davenport will never forget the stirring memories of her triumphant debut at the Atlanta Games in 1996 and Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova says she would prefer to win an Olympic gold medal this year over any of the Grand Slams.
“For me, it’s a big priority of the year,” Federer, a winner of 12 Grand Slam titles, told reporters during the Pacific Life Open at Indian Wells last month.
“The (ATP) Tour actually bases its entire schedule around the Olympics Games and I follow that scheme. I want to play in this year’s Olympics and I’m going to be there.
“I’ve already had two great experiences,” the 26-year-old Swiss added, referring to Sydney in 2000 when he lost the bronze-medal match to Frenchman Arnaud Di Pasquale and Athens in 2004 when he lost to Czech Tomas Berdych in the second round.
“For me it is already, but maybe some players and some fans need more convincing that the Olympics is big for tennis.”
Serbian world No 3 Djokovic, who clinched his eighth ATP title by beating American Mardy Fish in the Pacific Life Open final last month, agrees.
“I rate them (the Games) probably on the top, one of the tops for sure,” the 20-year-old said. “I mean come on, it’s the Olympics.

Once every four years
“You get to play Grand Slams every year, four Grand Slams. The Olympics you get to play one time in four years and who knows what will happen in four years for us?
“So I will not risk that and I’ll be very honored and privileged to participate in such an event, an event with the most tradition in sport.”
Russian former world No 1 Maria Sharapova has long cherished competing at the Olympics.
“It’s been a dream of mine ever since I was a little girl, so it’s been one of my priorities for a very long time,” the 20-year-old said.
“The Olympics comes around only once every four years and the US Open is there every single year.
“One of the things I’m really looking forward to is the opening ceremony and walking with all the athletes from my country in front of thousands of people.”
WTA Tour veteran Davenport was a gold medalist in the women’s singles at the 1996 Atlanta Games, two years before she clinched the first of her three Grand Slam titles.
“It was the first big thing I won and a huge honor,” the former Wimbledon, US Open and Australian Open champion told Reuters.
“When I won the US Open in 1998, it seemed to give me more validity as a player. Those two were certainly big turning points in my career and it’s hard to compare them.
“I can’t wait to go back in early August. It’s been on the calendar for my family for a long time. My aspiration is to do my best to win any medal. I really don’t care.

Best memory
“My best memory is winning the gold but I always think back to the opening ceremonies in ‘96. The United States was the last country to come out and I was with Mary Joe (Fernandez) and Monica (Seles), two of my best friends on the Tour.
“It was a moment I’ll never forget. We were so excited and giddy and, like, pure joy. Sitting there, we were all crying when Muhammad Ali lit the torch. I always kind of think back to that moment.”
Kuznetsova was brought up in a family where the Olympic Games represented the ultimate in sport.
Her father, Alexandr Kuznetsov, coached six Olympic and world cycling champions, including her mother, Galina Tsareva, a six-time world champion.
“For me it’s very important,” said the 22-year-old, who won her first Grand Slam title at the 2004 US Open. “It’s like a Grand Slam or even maybe more important than that.”
Asked whether she would prefer to win Wimbledon or an Olympic gold medal this year, Kuznetsova replied: “Olympic gold medal. No question.”
Pressed if she would change her mind if the French Open was the alternative, she said: “It would come very close, you know. I hope I don’t need to choose this one.
“Well, if I have one Grand Slam and I would have one Olympic medal it would be good. I have chances to win (Grand Slams) next year, you know, but then there is no Olympics.”

from: chinadaily.com.cn

Tennis greatness is measured in Grand Slam triumphs, but that doesn’t make the game’s best players immune to the lure of Olympic gold.
Top US player Andy Roddick has decided to skip the Beijing Games in August in order to prepare for a run at the US Open, but for most of the top players on the ATP and WTA tours, the Games remain a key event in the 2008 calendar.
Maria Sharapova, who captured the third Grand Slam title of her career at the Australian Open in January, is eager to soak up the Olympic atmosphere.
“The Olympics comes around only once every four years and the US Open is there every single year,” she said.
“It has been a dream of mine ever since I was a little girl.”
Part of the appeal, Sharapova said, is that the Games will be so different from the events that tour professionals encounter week after week.
“Usually, you have sort of an idea of what things are going to be like, but I’m really clueless,” she said.
“One of the things I’m really looking forward to is the opening ceremony and walking with athletes from my country in front of thousands of people.”
Sharapova said she would love a chance to attend another sport, especially gymnastics or rhythmic gymnastics.
“When I was younger I wanted to be a rhythmic gymnast,” she said.
“In Russia, rhythmic gymnastics and figure skating are an art form and I was always intrigued by that,” added Sharapova, who recalled rollerblading with a makeshift ribbon as a youngster.
“I’d be rolling around my garage,” she said. “I’d just be rollerblading and waving the ribbon. I thought I was in the Olympics.”
American Lindsay Davenport, who won the Olympic singles gold in front of home fans at the 1996 Atlanta Games, has more concrete memories to draw on. According to Davenport, Sharapova’s youthful imaginings are not far off the mark.
“Obviously, my best memory is winning the gold, but on top of that I always think back to the opening ceremony in ‘96,” Davenport said.
“It was in Atlanta, and the US was the last country to come out. I was with Mary Joe (Fernandez) and Monica (Seles), two of my best friends on the tour at the time, and it was just a moment I’ll never forget.
“We were so excited, giddy - like pure joy.
“Normally you don’t really see that from professional athletes, and we just thought we were the luckiest people in the world. We were all crying when Muhammad Ali lit the torch. I wish I could go back and feel the happiness that the three of us felt at that time.”
Tennis was one of the original nine Olympic sports when the modern Games were inaugurated in Athens in 1896.
But tennis withdrew from the programme after the 1924 Games, only being reintroduced as a medal sport in 1988.
Roger Federer, who has reigned as the No 1 player in the world since 2004, has made two Olympic campaigns and says he is looking forward to another chance to add a gold medal to his resume.
Federer finished fourth in 2000 and was knocked out in round two at Athens.
The 12-time Grand Slam champion acknowledged, however, that for many the major tournaments of Wimbledon, Roland Garros and the Australian and US Opens remain the benchmark of success.
“You’re going to be judged on the Grand Slams you win and number ones,” Federer says. “The Olympics are a new thing to tennis.
“That’s one of the reasons I understand decisions like Andy’s. Maybe in 50 years’ time it will also become one of the big tournaments to win. For me it is already, but maybe some players and some fans need more convincing that the Olympics is big for tennis.”
While the overall experience, including bonding with teammates from more traditional Olympic sports, is part of the attraction of the Games, stars such as Federer face the problem of being celebrities in the Olympic Village.
Federer has said he will consider foregoing the village in order to prepare better for his matches.
American Mardy Fish, who captured the men’s singles silver in Athens, said he wasn’t surprised.
“We had Venus Williams on the team at that time and she stayed in the hotel,” Fish recalled.
“But she came one afternoon and ate lunch with us in the the athlete’s lunch place, and she was having a hard time walking around without having to sign an autograph every 10 seconds.
“I read that he (Federer) probably wants to stay in a hotel - I imagine that would probably be a pretty good idea for him.”ù

from: chinadaily.com.cn 

Although the 2008 season is barely three months old, Swiss world No. 1 Roger Federer and other leading players are already turning their thoughts towards the Beijing Olympics in August.
For Federer, the Olympic Games are close to the grand slams in importance while Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic believes they might rank even higher because they take place only once every four years.
American Lindsay Davenport will never forget the stirring memories of her triumphant debut at the Atlanta Games in 1996 and Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova says she would prefer to win an Olympic gold medal this year over any of the grand slams.
“For me, it’s a big priority of the year,” Federer, a winner of 12 grand slam titles, said.
“The (ATP) tour actually bases its entire schedule around the Olympics Games and I follow that scheme. I want to play in this year’s Olympics and I’m going to be there.
“I’ve already had two great experiences,” the 26-year-old Swiss added, referring to 2000 Sydney when he lost the bronze-medal match to Frenchman Arnaud Di Pasquale and Athens in 2004 when he lost to Czech Tomas Berdych in the second round.
Serbian world No. 3 Djokovic, who clinched his eighth ATP title by beating American Mardy Fish at the Pacific Life Open final last weekend, agrees.
“I rate them (the Games) probably on the top, one of the tops for sure,” the 20-year-old said. “I mean come on, it’s the Olympics. You get to play grand slams every year, four grand slams. The Olympics you get to play one time in four years and who knows what will happen in four years for us?
“So I will not risk that and I’ll be very honoured and privileged to participate in such an event, an event with the most tradition in sport.”
Russian former world No. 1 Maria Sharapova has long cherished competing at the Olympics.
“It’s been a dream of mine ever since I was a little girl, so it’s been one of my priorities for a very long time,” the 20-year-old said. “One of the things I’m really looking forward to is the opening ceremony and walking with all the athletes from my country in front of thousands of people.”
Davenport was a gold medallist in the women’s singles at the 1996 Atlanta Games, two years before she clinched the first of her three grand slam titles.
“It was the first big thing I won and a huge honour,” the former Wimbledon, US Open and Australian Open champion said.
“When I won the US Open in 1998, it seemed to give me more validity as a player. Those two were certainly big turning points in my career and it’s hard to compare them. I can’t wait to go back in early August.
“My best memory is winning the gold but I always think back to the opening ceremonies in ‘96. The US were the last country to come out and I was with Mary Joe (Fernandez) and Monica (Seles), two of my best friends on the tour.
“It was a moment I’ll never forget. We were so excited and giddy and, like, pure joy. Sitting there, we were all crying when Muhammad Ali lit the torch. I always kind of think back to that moment.”
Kuznetsova was brought up in a family where the Olympic Games represented the ultimate in sport. “For me it’s very important,” said the 22-year-old, who won her first grand slam title at the 2004 US Open. “It’s like a grand slam or even maybe more important than that.”
Asked whether she would prefer to win Wimbledon or an Olympic gold medal this year, Kuznetsova replied: “Olympic gold medal. No question.”

from: xinhuanet.com 

The highest-ranked American tennis player is skipping the Beijing Olympics, choosing instead to focus on preparing for the U.S. Open by playing at the hard-court Legg Mason Tennis Classic.
“My goal every summer is to win the U.S. Open,” Roddick said in a statement released by Legg Mason organizers. “I have won the Legg Mason Tennis Classic three times and feel defending my title in Washington best prepares me for another Grand Slam title.”
The Washington tournament runs August 11-17, the same dates as the Olympic tennis event. The U.S. Open begins August 25.
Roddick, ranked No. 6 by the ATP tour, won his lone major championship at the 2003 U.S. Open. He won Legg Mason titles in 2001, 2005 and 2007.
Roddick has been a regular on the U.S. Davis Cup team, which won the championship last year.
He lost in the third round at the 2004 Athens Olympics, and said at the time: “Some guys really don’t care that much. I cared a lot. It’s not the biggest thing in our sport, but it’s the biggest thing in sports.”

from: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/olympics/2008-03/13/content_6534215.htm

Roger Federer, who has always said that an Olympic gold medal is one of his biggest goals, has cast doubt on whether he will stay in the Olympic village in August.
Federer was a little troubled with his experience in the Athens in 2004 when he lost early on to Tomas Berdych and fears that some of the shortcomings of those Games might be repeated in Beijing.
There the world No 1 from Switzerland felt that four years ago there were several things which made it difficult for him, and he would like to consider avoiding a repeat.
“It was quite difficult in Athens,” Federer said. “Taking the bus and not being in control of my own schedule, and many people recognizing me in the village.
“It was not as enjoyable as Sydney, which I loved. I still have not made up my mind (whether to stay in the Olympic village),” he added, perhaps concerned as to whether there would be traffic and commuting problems for visiting athletes.
Asked about the inconvenience of being recognized so much, Federer elaborated by saying: “Every time I go to eat everyone taps on your shoulder. I don’t mind it but I wish it was different one day of the week.”
Avoiding recognition is also one of the reasons why he makes Dubai his training base, Federer admitted, an arrangement which may help him deal with the rare situation in which he finds himself this week.
The world’s best player finds himself playing one of the world’s most up-and-coming players, Andy Murray in the first round of the Dubai Open - a situation which could only happen in this very unusual tournament.
That is because the record appearance money gives it an entry similar to the top half of a Master Series, or top quarter of a Grand Slam. But it is a third- level tournament’s 32 draw with only eight seeds.
Murray, the world No 12 from Scotland, is therefore likely to be a tougher first test than Federer will get anywhere, especially as he has not competed since being beaten by Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals of the Australian Open more than six weeks ago.
“I am happy to be back playing again because I have been away from the tour and it’s not easy. This is only my second tournament in four months.
“But I am back stronger and healthier than I was in Australia. Hopefully this time I will feel better.”
This was as close as Federer got to admitting that his performances in Melbourne might have been affected by having been ill, as had been rumored, though when asked about this directly he deflected it.
“I just felt slow in the semi-final,” he said. “I really doubt that it was because of the Tipsarevic match (a hard five sets) because I was feeling like that against Berdych.
“By the Djokovic match I was completely fine again. I just wasn’t happy with my movement and defensive skills. Maybe it (losing) was because of that. Djokovic played well on the big points.”

from: chinadaily.com.cn