Right well as the 2012 Summer Olympics is looming as it starts next Friday, I thought I would say something about the tennis which is due to start on 28 July.
Well for starters I might as well say something about the surprising news that Rafa Nadal will not be playing at the Olympics, as he has been forced to withdraw due to tendonitis in his knee. This might also have reflected why he lost out early in Wimbledon this year, as perhaps it was attributed to this, but it is a pity that he won't be able to play, and here's hoping Rafa will be ready for the hard court season.
So with Rafa out of the Olympics, that means that our British Numero, Andy Murray, uno has another shout at reaching another final, at Wimbledon. But that all depends on how well Andy will play throughout the tournament, and with the matches being the best of three sets, up until the final (which is the best of five) that leaves less margin for error, so Andy will need to play consistently well throughout. Thankfully for him his form at Wimbledon was terrific, and he will be really motivated once again to do really well at the Olympics, and with Ivan Lendl in his corner he will hopefully be able to be more mentally prepared this time round. So while Andy will have his chances to win a medal, it will still be a really tough road to walk, and doubtless he will have to face either Roger or Novak in the final, should he get there. And I'm hoping this time that Andy will face Djokovic, as he stands a better chance of winning against him then Federer, who seems to always Andy's number just now (and everyone elses!). And over the best of 3 set matches anything can happen, and there maybe a few upsets on the way, but I hope that Andy isn't one of them. And if he does face Federer in the final here's hoping he can upset the odds and be the one to lift the prize this time.
And back in 2008 at the Beijing Olympics, Andy had little time to prepare for the games, as he had a mere 3 days in between winning his first Masters title in Cincinnati that year and going to Beijing, which saw him go out in the first round. And since then Andy has said he has sworn to make amends for his loss back then, which I'm sure he will, especially as he will once again be playing for the home crowd. But whatever way it will go its not going to be easy by any means, but whatever happens I do hope that Andy wins a medal, the gold would be terrific, but the silver and bronze aren't to be sniffed at either.
As for Roger, well you could say that he is the hot favourite to win the gold medal, given that its back at Wimbledon, and his form during the grass court major was for the most part superb. But it is the best of 3 sets, and anything can happen, and there is a slight chance that Federer could even lose en route, but given his current form it probably seems doubtful. But I also think that probably Roger is more concerned with winning the majors, so even if he loses I don't think its something he will be too disappointed by (but I could be wrong!). But if it is to be a repeat final from Wimbledon two weeks ago, I would much rather see Andy trade places with Roger on this one, and that way Andy will have achieved something that Roger hasn't in winning the gold medal. But with Roger having regained the World No.1 ranking, you would be mad to write him off in his chances of taking the top prize.
But if there is one man that can defeat Rog then it is Novak Djokovic, who's form has dipped off a little since his incredible last year, that saw him rise to the World No.1 spot. But Djokovic will be more than motivated to try and win the Olympic gold, and he has said all year that it was one of his main priorities in 2012, the other to win the French Open, which he lost to Nadal. But I'm certain that Djokovic will be utterly determined to ensure that he doesn't lose this one, and he could very well win it, but time will tell all. Djokovic himself suffered a heart breaking defeat to Rafa back at the 2008 Olympic games in the semi finals, but he went on to secure the bronze medal, by defeating the US player, James Blake. So I'm sure that Djokovic will be able to learn his past experience and do his best to improve on it this time round.
So that's it for my pre-Olympic games thoughts on the tennis, as for the overall event, well we will see how it pans out, as the organisation of the event hasn't exactly been that smooth. This of course is due to G4S, who were to oversee the security for the event, screw up on the training front, with nowhere near enough staff being properly trained to handle the security for the events. This has left the military to sort things out and ensure the Olympic games will be properly policed. Ah good old Britain, eh??? We can't do anything the right way, and its almost like as Ben Elton once said, that in Britain we prefer things to be just a bit crap, so that way we know where we stand. Coh!
Riggghhttt well that's it!!
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