Questions about the Olympics

[Hawaii 5.0]

I was wondering how the whole olympic situation is going to work and who will be playing( or rather who won't be in it).Since Justine and Roger have won the first GS so far they can not only win The Grand Slam, but the Golden Slam with an olympic win.I know Clijsters isn't playing because of a sponsership dispute.If I remember correctly you have to have played Davis Cup in order to play the Olypmics.What surface will it be played on(I was thinking clay since it's europe, but it's a new facility and generally clay is harder to maintain than hardcourts).I know alot of players don't give as much weight to the Olympics as other tourney's becuase of the money, but the prestige involved is pretty cool, not just for us tennis players.Feel free to comment on this and any other questions and concerns about this.

 

[edge]

Man, if I was on the Tour, I would love to compete in the Olympics. I don't care what they say but I think Davenport had the best attitude saying it was an honr and exciting to compete in the big O and hang with the other athletes.

 

[@wright]

Bring your "O" face...

 

[Vanja Ljubibratic]

I hope Safin takes the gold so that the honor can stay in Russia for another 4 years. I wonder if Kafelnikov will be there to cheer on his teammates, especially because he's the reigning champ? Athens is close enough to him anyways...

 

[M C]

The Olympics themselves are in sad shape. I hope the messups don't affect what could be great tennis.

 

[Fee]

The Olympics will be played on a hardcourt similar to the USO surface. I think the ITF asked them to use that surface so that the top players wouldn't balk at switching around so close to a Grand Slam. There is a rules page on the Athens website that states how the players will be picked (Top 60 are eligible, blah blah blah) and I think I once figured out that the US could actually send 4 singles players and 2 doubles teams under that rule, but it was late at night and I could have been very confused. Anyway, if that is true, figure Roddick, Fish, Blake and Ginepri, plus the Bryan Bros and Fish/Blake as the 2nd doubles team. But its months away and so much could change by then. I'll try to find that link...

 

[PureCarlosMoyaDrive]

Federer is scheduled to play, Kuerten really wants to win it. Was Hewitt gonna play it or not? Moya and Ferrero are supposed to play as well I believe. Isn't it a 64 man draw, with the losing semi-finalists playing in a play-off to decide the bronze medal?

 

[Free_Martha]

I've never understood players who didn't want to do the Olympics because there were no points awarded or it's not enough money(!). Do any of these players realize that the vast majority of people in this world can only dream and fantasize about winning an Olympic medal? Don't they understand the absolute prestige of having an Olympic gold medal in your stockpile of trophies and awards? Tell a non-tennis fan anywhere in the world that you won Wimbledon and you'll get a glassy stare, but tell them that you won an Olympic gold medal and you are the bees knees!

I think an Olympic gold takes the cake above all others. Players who are too greedy or lazy to see that don't deserve to represent their country.

 

[Verbal_Kint]

It doesn't in tennis, at least, not for most players. The Grand Slams are what really counts. I think the Olympics are about as 'big as' the year end championships for most players. Of course this is an average, as there are players that will always play for their country when they get the chance, and others who won't.

Marnix

 

[PureCarlosMoyaDrive]

They actually do award points for the olympics. I think it's close to 100 for the winner, maybe more around 80. Grand Slams are much bigger than Olympics for tennis I think. I mean, I never even knew that Kafelnikov and Agassi won the olympic tennis. To be completely honest, I didn't even know it existed til last year.

 

[CBodom]

lets hope kafelni comes outa retirement to defend his gold

 

[vadan25]

I don't think Hewitt will be playing in the Olympics. He is committed to the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in DC, which will be going on at the same time. I was a bit surprised to see that, as he has made playing for Australia in the Davis Cup such a high priority.