Tennis has the potential to be one of the most interesting sports at The Olympics this summer. The venue is The All England Club, host to Wimbledon every year. This grass court facility has been hosting one of the four Grand Slam tournaments since 1877. Essentially the same fields in Men’s and Women’s singles will compete again on the same courts they played on a mere 3 weeks prior during Wimbledon. The main difference, the draw is half the size it was at Wimbledon, and now these athletes are competing for something larger than personal glory. To be eligible to compete in The Olympics, prospective players must meet international requirements, effectively squeezing out any amateur competitors. The All England Club caretakers have three weeks to re-grow the grass on each court to ready it for The Games and give the best players in the world one more shot to win a championship match on the fabled Centre Court. Through the decades, American’s have had their share of success on those hallowed grounds and this summer could produce a couple more victories for the red, white and blue.
The top nine spots in the Men’s international rankings are not occupied by anyone from The United States. The days of dominance by the likes of Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi are in the past for now, but there are still some opportunities for American’s to take home medals in the XXX Summer Olympiad. Perhaps the best chance will come from the rackets of Serena and Venus Williams in Women’s Doubles, the defending Gold Medalists from Beijing. Both are coming off of early exits at The French Open. Venus is starting to enter events now after her autoimmune disease diagnoses last August; her ranking has plummeted, and her level of play is certainly affected by the Sjorgens Syndrome in her system. Venus did win a gold medal in singles in 2000 and in doubles with her sister in 2008. Her sister Serena has 13 major singles titles and another 12 doubles titles, but has yet to medal in The Olympics in singles.
Diesel server Andy Roddick could will his way on to the trophy stand for Men’s Singles in what could be his last Olympic games after skipping the event in 2008. There’s no arguing Roddick is not at the level he used to be, or could be at right now. He’s an emotional competitor; who could harness those emotions and use them to rise to the occasion, especially if he’s motivated and fit enough. The highest ranked American is John Isner, a 6’ 9” product of The University of Georgia, and the record holder of the longest match in The Open Era, a match that took place at Wimbledon. That 11 hour and 5 minute long match has established the foundations for almost legendary status for Isner at The All England Club. His familiarity with those grass courts could prove helpful as he tries to bring home a medal for The United States. Mardy Fish is the second highest ranked American, but he won’t be competing in light of his recent heart arrhythmia diagnoses.
Christina McHale and Varvara Lepchenko round out the women competing in singles, with specialists Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond teaming up for doubles. The up and coming Ryan Harrison and journeyman Donald Young will also most likely be selected to join Andy Roddick and John Isner in the singles draw. The most successful doubles team in the history of tennis in the Open Era, twin brothers Bob and Mike Bryan, will round out the American squad. Isner, Harrison, Young, McHale and Lepchenko are all first time participants. Huber and Raymond will be playing together for the first time. The Bryan brothers will try to win a gold medal for the United States against the Swiss Juggernaut of Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka. Federer and Wawrinka are the defending gold medalists in doubles. Most people know Federer as the winningest tennis player in history, with 23 major singles titles to his credit. He found surprising success in Beijing in doubles in 2008, and the international community is looking for more of the same this summer.
All of these athletes have qualified to be members of The U.S. Olympic team based on a system established by The International Tennis Federation. Around the world, one can qualify to represent their nation in tennis if they’re ranked in the top 60 in the world and have competed in two Davis or Fed Cup events in the past four years – and one must have been in the past year according to the ITF website. Davis Cup and Fed Cup, for men and women respectively, are mini Olympic events so to speak that take place every year. You play on a team of four, representing your country in a thrice-yearly team competition; quarter-final, semi-final and final rounds. Serena, Venus and Lepchenko have not competed in enough Fed Cup events to qualify, but team coaches Mary Joe Fernandez and Jay Berger will undoubtedly work to secure waivers from the ITF to ensure their eligibility. Lepchenko attained U.S. citizenship status last year, not enough time to compete in two Fed Cup events.
Now, the chances of The United States bringing home any medals in a sport we unfortunately aren’t dominate in anymore aren’t as bleak as it’s about to look: Serbian Novak Djokovic, Spainard Rafael Nadal, and Swiss Roger Federer have been constant fixtures of the pro tour since the last Olympic Games. Djokovic won 41 straight matches to start 2011, won 3 Grand Slams in a row, and constantly defeated the top players in the world in the process. Rafa Nadal was widely considered a clay court specialist, winning The French Open a record 7 times. He’s won a career Golden Slam though, only the third of any player to do it. A Golden Slam is a Gold Medal in the Olympics and singles titles in all four Grand Slams. Andre Agassi and Steffi Graff are the only other two to achieve that. Roger Federer is considered the king of grass, winning Wimbledon five times in a row. In an overlapping time period, he won five U.S. Open’s in a row as well. With that said, the two best American men in the singles draw can match up against these behemoths of the game. John Isner has gone up against Djokovic three times, winning their latest meeting earlier this year. Isner upset Federer in Davis Cup earlier this year on clay in Switzerland, but also has three losses to him. His record against Nadal is no better, having lost all three meetings. He hasn’t met any of them on grass. Isner’s booming serve will help him to “direct traffic” so to speak during his service games, always a major advantage competing against the best in the world. Andy Roddick – another huge server – has been stifled in four grand slam finals by Roger Federer. Potentially, Roddick could have five Grand Slams had he not run into the maestro. Federer has gotten the best of him 21 times – a stunning losing record for Roddick – but Andy did defeat Roger in their only meeting this year in straight sets. Roddick holds a winning record against Novak Djokovic, but the two haven’t played since 2010, which many would argue is like two different careers for the Djoker. Rafa holds a seven to three advantage over Roddick in their meetings. The only time these two met on grass was in 2008 at Queen’s Club in London. Roddick has always performed better on grass, telling the AP “when I get on a grass court it just feels natural to me…” The match-ups don’t look good on paper for The American’s in singles, but The Olympics are a different type of competition all together, these athletes will be reaching to a whole different level for physical, mental and emotional energy to try and win a medal for their country. This kind of emotional wildcard could propel or hamstring Andy Roddick probably the most out of any American. With that said, it won’t be easy; it’s an uphill battle more than anything else. The Olympics are all about the moment; records and statistics don’t matter, one point, one set and one match can change everything. None of these athletes are naïve to that. Anything can happen, including an American medaling in Singles. It might seem like a long shot, but it’s The Olympics, the unexpected should be expected…
On the women’s side, there really isn’t any competition for the William’s sisters in doubles as long as they’re both healthy enough. Singles is an entirely different story. Russian Maria Sharapova has dominated the women’s side in singles along with Belarusian Victoria Azarenka this calendar year; splitting the first two grand slams of the season between the two of themselves. Sharapova’s victory at Roland Garros and Victoria Azarenka’s win at The Australian Open completes a formidable duo of women to beat this upcoming fortnight. Serena and Venus on paper should go the deepest in this competition, but Christina McHale has surged on tour recently. She could absolutely make a deep run, especially since she made it to the 3rd round at Wimbledon. As long as she gets that waiver, Lepchenko could also be troublesome for some of the favorites; she made it to the 4th Round at Roland Garros.
People don’t necessarily think tennis when they think Summer Olympics. Most will probably look at swimming, track and field and basketball first. The combination of talent, venue and timing in the season though can make the tennis event the one to watch all the way through this time around. With Wimbledon only being three weeks in the books, players having competed since January and the opportunity to wear a medal on Centre Court of Wimbledon, we could see unexpected players rise to the occasion. Look for America to bring home medals in all three doubles events and possibly a bronze or silver in both singles events. For some Americans, like Andy Roddick, this could be the best Olympic send-off; Centre Court, Wimbledon, one of the most storied courts in the history of the sport. We could see a whole new side to an American many have written off. Don’t forget about Venus Williams either, the winner of five Wimbledon titles. After all, The Olympics are where miracles can happen. With everything going on in the world and in Washington, a miracle in any sport could be a great distraction. Why not tennis, why not this summer?
