Lawn Tennis
Roger Federer Favored For Gold At Beijing Olympics
By Ken Miller, Lawn Tennis Correspondent, Posted: Saturday, August 9, 2008 2:00pm CST USA
Roger Federer Favored For Gold At Beijing Olympics
Roger Federer of Switzerland
(lawntennismag.com)-Friday at the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics, world number one Roger Federer of Switzerland on his 27th birthday carried his country's flag. Federer, despite recent lukewarm showings, is still the overwhelming favorite for gold.

2000 silver medalist Tommy Haas of Germany and 2004 silver medalist Mardy Fish both are skipping the games altogether. 2000 gold


Federer, despite recent lukewarm showings, is still the overwhelming favorite for gold.

medalist Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia is retired from the sport, but 2004 gold medalist Nicolas Massu of Chile is competing at the games, although he is playing at a lower level the last few years.

Most likely the men's singles field of the Olympics will be another two man show between Federer and Wimbledon and French Open champion Rafael Nadal of Spain. Nadal beat Federer at both the Wimbledon and French Open finals, but on hardcourts Federer still has the edge due to his aggressive volley game.

Gold: Roger Federer, Switzerland
Silver: Rafael Nadal, Spain
Bronze: Novak Djokovic, Serbia

In the women's field, its looks to be a battle between Serbians and Americans as 2000 gold medalist and Wimbledon champion Venus Williams of the USA could meet her sister Serena Williams in the final. World number one Ana Ivanovic of Serbia could very well reach the semifinals where she could face Serena.

On the bottom half of the draw, red hot Dinara Safina of Russia, who has won back to back hardcourt tournaments this summer, could meet soon to be world number one Jelena Jankovic of Serbia in the quarterfinals.

On this hardcourt surface, the Williams sisters should serve and hit their way into the singles final with forceful groundstrokes. The sister committing the fewer errors will take the gold medal. The Williams sisters also could very well take additional gold medals in the doubles tournament were they are seeded second.

Gold: Venus Williams, USA
Silver: Serena Williams, USA
Bronze: Dinara Safina, Russia

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