With the addition of mixed doubles, a tennis player can certainly win 3 gold medals in one Olympic games. However, we found out in 2008 that 8 gold medals is the apex of Olympic achievements. Of course, I will ignore that swimming gives multiple medals for covering the same distance with different techniques and has a lot more relays than say track and field does. After all, who wants to see Usain Bolt backpedal or skip for 100M?
So here is my improbable path for Roger, Novak, Andy or Serena to achieve 8 gold medals. The given player would have to sweep the 3 tennis events. Badminton has singles, doubles and mixed doubles events as well. This would get a racquet maestro to 6 gold medals. Table Tennis has singles and doubles events but does not have mixed doubles. This is likely the path of least resistance for a tennis player to win 8 gold medals. It is the easiest path and also quite impossible even if the schedule would allow for an athlete to compete in all 8 of the events I listed. Of course, maybe a tennis player could be added to a dominant sailing team or maybe fence his or her way to another gold medal. Handball is another possible candidate as one of the early names for tennis was jeu de paume (game of the palm).
Tennis could add a Triple Crown to go along with the Grand Slam
It is impossible for a tennis player to get to 8 or even to 4 gold medals in single Olympic games, but I would love to see a tennis player win 3 gold medals. For this to happen, it would likely need to be a dominating player on the women’s tour. If mixed doubles had been around in 2000 when Venus won 2 golds, why couldn’t she have picked up 3? Serena Williams may win 3 golds in 2012, but the last I heard she was leaning toward not playing mixed doubles. For the men, Stefan Edberg won bronze in singles and doubles in 1988, but he had the doubles acumen to make a triple gold possible if things broke his way. Had Federer convinced Martina Hingis to play in the 2012 games, he would have had a slight chance at pulling off 3 gold medals.
2004 saw the the Olympic games once again fall between Wimbledon and the US Open. Much like the Atlanta games these games were held on a similar hard court surface to that of the US Open. This was more desirable than the red clay of the 1992 games, but the games being in Athens meant that participants would travel from North American events in Canada and Cincinnati to Athens and then back to New York to finish the hard court season.
The Women Again Hold Form
The women’s tennis events in the Olympic games have produced a lot of top quality champions. 2004 was no exception. Justine Henin won the gold medal by defeating Amelie Mauresmo 6-3, 6-3. Henin won the 2003 French Open and US Open along with the 2004 Australian Open. Injuries derailed Henin for much of the remainder of 2004, but this gold medal was a nice post-injury prize. Li Ting and Sun Tiantian won the gold in doubles for China. The importance of tennis’ growth in China cannot be overstated. Conchita Martinez won another medal in doubles by picking up the silver with Virginia Ruano Pascual.
Massu Goes Gonzo and Wins 2 Golds
After Wimbledon 2004 ended, Roger Federer stood as a 3 time major champion, but Andy Roddick had made a strong effort in his 4 set loss to Federer. Roddick’s gains by attacking the net at Wimbledon were blunted after Federer beat Roddick routinely to take the Masters Series Canada title. It appeared that the surprise tactic would not have lasting repercussions for their rivalry. Still, most people would have expected either Federer or Roddick if not both to medal in 2004. Instead, Chile dominated the games. Nicolas Massu won the gold medal in singles by defeating Mardy Fish in an epic match 6-3, 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 . Fernando Gonzalez took Roddick out en route to the medal rounds and won the bronze medal by beating Taylor Dent 6-4, 2-6, 16-14 (30 game deciding set!). Two medals for Chile would not be enough as Gonzo and Massu took the gold in doubles as well by defeating Nicolas Kiefer and 2003 Australian Open runner-up Rainer Schuttler in another marathon 6-2, 4-6, 3-6, 7-6, 6-4. The Chilean players also upset the Bryan twins in straight sets en route to the medal round. Given that Massu never won another hard court event in his career and that he and Gonzo were not exactly doubles specialists, these victories appear to be a bit miraculous. 5 set finals in singles and doubles plus an excellent bronze medal match gave Chilean tennis a week for the ages. Mario Ancic and Ivan Ljubicic took the bronze medal home for Croatia in doubles.
Final Verdict – An Ambiguous Games
While the men’s results in 2004 were as odd as they were in 1992, the idea of Olympic tennis had grown on the tour and top players seemed committed to the process in a manner that the top players of 1992 lacked. Women’s singles had produced gold medalists of Graf, Capriati, Davenport, Venus Williams and Henin in the 4 modern era games for tennis. Still, it would not be until 2008 that both the men and women put forth truly compelling results.
Like the Seoul Olympics of 1988, Sydney fell after the US Open. The easier schedule along with a somewhat solid 1996 for tennis led to another successful games.
Venus’ 2000 Dominance
Venus Williams won Wimbledon and the US Open in 2000. She posted a 35 match winning streak that spanned Wimbledon through the US Open and 2000 Olympic games. Venus also won the doubles titles at Wimbledon and the Sydney Olympics with her sister Serena Williams. 2 Grand Slam singles titles, 1 Grand Slam doubles title, and Olympic gold in singles and doubles capped off the best stretch of Venus’ career. Elena Dementieva took home a silver medal in singles. Monica Seles, who failed to medal in 1996, picked up the bronze medal in 2000. Seles’ career trajectory was derailed in a heinous manner in 1993 so this medal is one of the brighter accomplishments as her career was winding down. The 2000 games confirmed Venus’ status as the best player in the world despite the WTA computer not reflecting this fact.
Yevgeny Loves Rebound Ace
Yevgeny Kafelnikov won the 1999 Australian Open and was runner-up in Melbourne in 2000. The rebound ace surface used at the Australian Open from 1988-2007 was used by the Sydney Olympics as well. Kafelnikov won gold in singles defeating Tommy Haas 7-6, 3-6, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3. This was an epic match to decide the gold medal. Arnaud Di Pasquale defeated a young talent named Roger Federer in the bronze medal match 7-6, 6-7, 6-3. Kafelnikov’s gold medal joined his 1996 French Open and 1999 Australian Open singles titles. This along with his doubles Grand Slam successes would seemingly have put Kafelnikov into the Hall of Fame (a topic for another day). Mark Wooforde and Todd Woodbridge had to settle for a silver medal in doubles as Sebastien Lareau and Daniel Nestor took the gold for Canada. Alex Corretja and Albert Costa claimed a bronze medal in doubles. Costa did win the 2002 French Open in singles. Corretja is one of the best players to never win a slam, but a bronze medal along with winning the 1998 ATP World Championships and his 2 French Open runner-up finishes (1998 and 2001) leave him with a strong career.
Final Verdict – The Big Story of All Williams All the Time
Venus and Serena winning the doubles title foreshadowed the historic run they shared from 2003-2004. Considering that the two have combined to win 21 singles slams, 13 women’s doubles slams, 3 Olympic Gold Medals, and 4 Mixed Doubles Slams, this remarkable story is still being written. Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Tommy Haas were worthy competitors for a gold medal in 2000. They produced a grueling 5 set match in the final round. Overall, these games were a fairly solid success for tennis.
Tennis in 1996 suffered despite being a logical tune-up for the US Open as the tennis events were held on hard courts in Atlanta, Georgia. Still, 7 of the top 10 men did not play the event. Andre Agassi was the #1 seed, but he was fresh off of a Wimbledon loss to Doug Flach (spellcheck keeps wanting to change his name to Doug Flash and losing to The Flash would be less humbling). Unseeded Jonas Bjorkman drew Agassi in the first round. Bjorkman had a break out singles season in 1997 and lost a tight match to Agassi 7-6, 7-6. Had that result reversed these games might have fallen to pieces as the tennis facility was not close to the main Olympic facilities in Atlanta. As tennis crazy as Atlanta is, a loss by Agassi may have killed fan attendance. Still, the draw was soft on the men’s side of things. Steffi Graf chose not to play the event, but the women’s draw was solid. The Atlanta games would be the first of the modern era to have a bronze medal match of the losing semifinalists rather than awarding 2 bronze medals.
Lindsay Davenport Takes Gold
Davenport did not start winning major events until the 1998 US Open, but the 1996 Olympics foreshadowed a stellar career for Lindsay. She worked her way through a tough draw and beat Jana Novotna and Aranxta Sanchez-Vicario in the medal rounds. Jana Novotna took the bronze medal match by beating Mary Joe Fernandez. Sanchez-Vicario added to her medal haul from 1992 with a silver medal in singles and a bronze medal in doubles with Conchita Martinez. Jana Novotna picked up a silver medal in doubles with Helena Sukova. Mary Joe Fernandez lost in the bronze medal match in singles, but defended her 1992 gold medal in doubles with Gigi Fernandez. Monica Seles was the top seed, but she lost a tight 3 set match to Novotna in the quarterfinal round. Women’s tennis saw a trend of players compiling multiple medals in the 3 modern instances of tennis as an Olympic sport.
Where Were the Top Men?
A weak draw led to the men’s event looking anemic. Andre Agassi won gold and this alone helped to prop up the event. However, Agassi’s form in 1996 was a far cry from what he demonstrated in the late stages of 1994 and most of 1995. Second seeded Goran Ivanisevic lost in the first round. The man who upset Jim Courier at Wimbledon 1992, Andrei Olhovskiy, resurfaced more than four year later to reach the quarterfinal round. Agassi beat Leander Paes and Sergi Bruguera in the medal rounds to take the gold. Bruguera won the French Open in 1993 and 1994. Having him contest the gold medal with Andre Agassi, who at that time had won 3 major titles, gave the gold medal match more legitimacy than the draw might have suggested.
The men’s event in Atlanta has to be remembered as much for other medals awarded on the men’s side as it is for Agassi beating Bruguera. Leander Paes was an entertaining revelation. For him to claim a bronze medal and help popularize tennis coming from a country with 1 billion people was and is a big deal. Tim Henman won a silver medial for the UK in doubles. Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge took home gold in doubles.
Final Verdict – Things Somehow Worked Out
With no disrespect to Marc Rosset, Olympic medals tend to be won by people at the top of a given sport. Tennis being a single elimination format is not going to hold form every time, but Agassi winning gold sounded right to casual tennis fans. The top men’s doubles team winning gold made sense. The women’s events maintained a sense of order while producing a future star in Lindsay Davenport. Leander Paes’ hands amazed fans and opponents alike. Atlanta restored some momentum to Olympic tennis that was lost in 1992.
1. Roger Federer – Fed has spent 288 weeks at #1 with at least a 289th week in the works.
2. Novak Djokovic – Novak won bronze in 2008. A gold medal would come with the #1 ranking.
3. Rafael Nadal – Rafa holds #3, but his withdrawing from the Olympic Games is going to at least temporarily upset the well ordered world of the ATP Tour.
4. Andy Murray – Can he return to the scene of his last near miss and win a medal for the Union Jack?
5. David Ferrer –Ferrer won his 5th title of 2012. He’s on his game and has a good shot at winning a medal in London.
6. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga – Tsonga is the player in the best position to challenge the top 4. He nearly beat Nole in Paris and made a solid semifinal showing at Wimbledon.
7. Juan Martin del Potro – Delpo played well in his first three Wimbledon matches, but was dominated by Ferrer. Concerns about the big man’s knees are real.
8. Marin Cilic – A semifinal loss in Hamburg does not derail Cilic’s recent momentum.
9. Juan Monaco – The Argentine followed up a runner-up finish in Sweden with a title in Hamburg. Change from last ranking – New comer
10.Andy Roddick - Winning 2 of his past 3 tournaments has Roddick in my top 10. Roddick has had enough success on grass that he is going to be a dangerous opponent at the London Olympic games. Change from last ranking – New comer
New Comers – Juan Monaco and Andy Roddick
Dropped Out – John Isner and Philipp Kohlschreiber
Different tournament, but the same result for these future doubles partners
4 Andy Roddick vs. Gilles Muller
Roddick won Eastbourne and should have a slight edge vs. Muller to win a 2nd title in 3 outings. Muller has had a knack of upsetting higher ranked players throughout his career. He beat Andy Roddick in the first round of the 2005 US Open. Still, Roddick should win this match and head to London with confidence.
Gstaad Surface- Clay Court
1 Janko Tipsarevic vs. Thomaz Bellucci
Janko won last week and should win again this week. It is nice to see Bellucci playing well as he should be a solid player week in and week out.
Hamburg Surface – Clay Court
Tommy Haas vs. 3 Juan Monaco
I enjoy watching both of these guys play. Monaco seems like the classic over achiever who competes so well. Haas is 34 and is the last man to beat Roger Federer on grass. I think Haas gets the nod as he is playing in Germany and has to be close to the end of his career. On paper, Monaco has to be favored, but I think Haas wins his second title in Germany for 2012.
The 1988 Olympic Games brought tennis back as a medal sport. Steffi Graf completed a “Golden Slam” in 1988, and the overall success of the tennis events brought about a great deal of excitement for the 1992 games. These games were held in Barcelona, Spain so Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario looked to be a major factor. The 1992 Olympics were held between Wimbledon and the US Open so players were looking at transitioning from clay to grass to clay to hard courts from June – early September. Surface speeds were not as uniform then as they are today so this was not n easy proposition.
The Women’s Event: Great Results
Steffi Graf had been runner-up at the 1992 French Open and had won the 1992 Wimbledon championships in a decisive fashion over Monica Seles. Graf was an Olympic veteran who won gold in singles and bronze in doubles in 1988 and who won the singles demonstration event at the 1984 games. Seles could not play due to citizenship issues. Sanchez-Vicario won the French Open in 1989 upsetting Graf in the final. She also beat Graf in the 1991 French Open semifinal round and lost a tight 3 set affair at the 1992 French Open to Graf. On clay and in Arantxa’s backyard, it looked to be an event with two clear favorites.
The tournament did not work out quite as planned, but there was drama to end the event. Jennifer Capriati beat Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 in the semifinal round to set up a gold medal match with Steffi Graf. Capriati pulled yet another upset with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over Graf who would add a silver to the gold and bronze medals she won in 1988. Mary Joe Fernandez and Sanchez-Vicario each received bronze medals. The Spanish fans had to be happy that Arantxa won a second medal in doubles by claiming silver with Conchita Martinez while Mary Joe Fernandez and Gigi Fernandez claimed the gold medal in doubles.
The Men’s Event: Marc Rosset? Jordi Arrese?
Jim Courier won the 1991 and 1992 French Open and looked forward to the 1992 Olympic games being played on clay. Courier and Pete Sampras won the Italian Open as a doubles tandem early in their careers and the US fielded a team of the #1 and #3 singles players in the world for the doubles event. Jim Courier bragged that he would stay in the Olympic Village. The US men’s team that boasted Courier, Sampras and 1989 French Open champion Michael Chang was even compared to the 1992 USA Basketball Dream Team(!). World #2 Stefan Edberg was in the singles and doubles events as well. Germany fielded Boris Becker and Michael Stich for singles and doubles. This was billed by many as the tennis event of the year. Someone needed to clue the top seeds in to this idea.
Boris Becker, who expressed similar sentiments to those of Jim Courier prior to the 1988 games, ominously said in 1992 something along the lines that he was just looking forward to getting coffee with non-tennis athletes. Courier decided he did not like the Olympic dorms after all (see below for more). Stich complained that the courts were rigged to favor Spanish players. Courier was beaten by Marc Rosset in the round of 16. Edberg, Sampras, Stich, Chang and Becker all also lost prior to the medal rounds. Goran Ivanisevic did win bronze medals in singles and doubles with Goran Prpic. Boris Becker took a short enough coffee break to win the gold in doubles with Michael Stich. Still, Marc Rosset vs. Jordi Arrese for the gold medal did not exactly project that the best of the best was standing on the medal stand to end the event.
Final Verdict – Men’s Olympic Tennis Took a Step Back
The 1992 games having all matches be 3 out of 5 set affairs on slow clay coming on the heels of Wimbledon and interfering with preparation for the US Open set up an incredibly weak men’s field for the 1996 games. Jim Courier mentioned that he was fatigued following his four set 1992 US Open quarterfinal victory over Andre Agassi. He explained that the fatigue was a result of not properly being prepared for the US Open because of the Olympic games. Women’s tennis continued to place elite players on the medal stands, but by 1996 the prevailing belief on the ATP tour was that the Olympic games hindered Grand Slam prospects.
Post Script – Pete Sampras Remembers the 1992 Olympics
What are your own Olympic memories from the Barcelona Games in 1992? “My memory of 1992, I walked into the Olympic village, I had a cot, and it was 95 degrees. I saw Jim Courier, who was literally two feet away from me in another cot and I said, ‘You know, I might go to the hotel’. So that started off things. It is obviously a very big event, a lot of people, I enjoyed my time there. I didn’t have a chance to see any other events. I lost in one of the early rounds in a tough match. It was a good experience. Tennis, to me, in the Olympics, in my time growing up, it was an exhibition
Olympic Tennis has had a lot of ups and downs. During some Olympic years, the tennis events have seemed at best like a 500 point tour level tournament while other years have produced high drama for the sport. With Davis Cup, Federation Cup, Hopman Cup, World Team Cup, and tennis’ four majors being held on three continents, it is a valid question to ask if tennis should be in the Olympics. Every tournament, with the possible exception of Atlanta this week, has a United Nations feel to it. I used to think tennis should not be an Olympic sport, but I changed my mind after seeing how Olympic status has helped tennis receive more systematic support from various nation-states. I similarly thought the addition of mixed doubles as a medal sport was an awful idea, but given the rarity of men and women competing both along side one another and against one another during the Olympics I have softened my stance. I am going to take a quick walk down memory lane and review both the strong and weak years for Olympic Tennis.
1988: Steffi Graf Conquers the World
1988 was a strong year for Olympic Tennis precisely because it was the first contemporary games to to have tennis as a medal sport. Steffi Graf had already won a calendar year Grand Slam in 1988. She entered the event with a great deal of momentum and pressure. Graf beat Gabriela Sabatini 6-3, 6-3 to achieve a Golden Slam in 1988. Zina Garrison and Manuela Maleeva picked up bronze medals as tennis at this time did not have a consolation match between the losing semifinalists to determine a sole bronze medal winner. Graf also collected a bronze medal in doubles. Graf’s 1988 included winning all 4 Grand Slam singles titles, a gold medal in singles, a Wimbedon doubles crown and a bronze medal in doubles.
On the men’s side, Miloslav Mecir was a surprise gold medalist, but Mecir had reached the 1986 US Open final, won the 1987 Key Biscayne event, and would reach the 1989 Australian Open final. Mecir could clearly play on the hard court surface at these games. Mecir also reached the 1987 French Open semifinal round and 1988 Wimbledon semifinal round. He was incredibly talented but was also sadly often injured. Tim Mayotte captured the silver medal while Brad Gilbert and Stefan Edberg each collected a bronze medal. Stefan Edberg also won a bronze medal in doubles.
Final Verdict – A Strong Games for Tennis
These games were a big success. I think falling after the US Open, as the Sydney Olympics also did, helped the tennis event. The excitement about tennis’ return as a medal sport all but insured that these games were a success for tennis. Graf’s pursuit of a singular level of excellence during a tennis season also added to the overall heft of these games. From my point of view, the general success and momentum from 1988 built up expectations for 1992 that were not realized.
Spanish superstar Rafael Nadal has pulled out of the London 2012 olympic games with a knee injury.
The world n.o3 is suffering from tendinitus, the same knee problem that saw him miss most of the 2009 season.
The last match Nadal played was in round two at the All England Club when the world number 100, Lukas Rosol beat the Spaniard in five sets to cause one of the biggest upsets in Wimbledon history.
1. Roger Federer – Fed has spent 287 weeks at #1 with at least a 288th week in the works. 286 is exactly 5 1/2 years at #1. Federer is pushing toward 6 years at #1.
2. Novak Djokovic – This summer is big for how Nole is viewed in the locker room. If Novak wins a 2nd US Open and reclaims #1, he looks like the standard bearer. If he posts spotty results, other guys may gain belief against him.
3. Rafael Nadal – Rafa holds #3, but his withdrawing from the Olympic Games is going to at least temporarily upset the well ordered world of the ATP Tour.
4. Andy Murray – Can he return to the scene of his last near miss and win a medal for the Union Jack?
5. David Ferrer –Ferrer won his 5th title of 2012. He’s on his game and has a good shot at winning a medal in London.
6. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga – Tsonga is the player in the best position to challenge the top 4. He nearly beat Nole in Paris and made a solid semifinal showing at Wimbledon.
7. Juan Martin del Potro – Delpo played well in his first three Wimbledon matches, but was dominated by Ferrer. Concerns about the big man’s knees are real.
8. Marin Cilic – Cilic won in Croatia to follow a solid showing at Wimbledon. His titles in Umag and at Queen’s Club make him a threat to medal in London.Change from last ranking +2
9. Philipp Kohlschreiber – His quarterfinal showing and solid play in Halle make Kohlschreiber a legitimate threat to medal at the 2012 Olympic games. He gets grass court tennis. Change from last ranking –1
10.John Isner - Isner wins Newport while only being broken once during the tournament. On US soil or when playing for the US, Isner has been a top 6 or 7 player in the world. When playing outside of the US or when not playing Davis Cup, he has looked a bit like a guy who could win a hard serving contest but little else at an ATP event. Isner will be back on grass and is playing for the US so I think he’s a big threat in London. Maybe like the Marvel superhero Captain Britain, Isner draws strength from US soil. Change from last ranking – New comer
New Comer – John Isner
Dropped Out – Mardy Fish (he didn’t do anything wrong, but Isner did enough right to displace him)
