Novak Djokovic - Olympic Dreams

As the best-known Serbian sportsman on the planet, Novak Djokovic is looking forward already to the chance to play for his country at the London Olympics next August.

"It's a competition that is not comparable to any other competition," said the world No. 1, with the US Open the next Grand Slam task on his plate. "It's just the longest sport event.

"Every athlete, professional athlete, wants to win a medal in the Olympics. It's just something that stays forever. The whole world is watching that competition."

Djokovic got a taste of the special ambience three years ago in Beijing,. "I had this pleasure and honor to be part of Olympics and to win a medal in Beijing. Let me tell you, it's one of the best experience I had in my tennis career.

"So I'm really looking forward to the next Olympics. Hopefully I can be part of it."

Djokovic owns a Serbian diplomatic passport issued several years ago for his sporting services to the new nation. His profile is now closely associated with his country.

"Our country is small, but we do have lots of success in sports. We consider at this moment and in last 10, 15 years our athletes as I think biggest ambassadors of our country, which gives us, as you said, a lot of pressure and expectations.

"But still we try to enjoy that and we try to always make sure we make everybody see where we're coming from."

Courtesy: Tennis Talk

Olympic schedule - Wimbledon 2012

Here is a link to the full schedule with prices for the Olympics that will be held at Wimbledon during the Summer of 2012.

Prices & Dates

Tax Haven Not So For Sanchez-Vicario

Members of Madrid 2016 delegation Raul Gonzalez and Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario react after Rio de Janiero was awarded the 2016 Olympic Games during the 121st IOC session in Copenhagen October 2, 2009.

::

MADRID (AP)—The Spanish Supreme Court has ordered former top-ranked women’s player Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario to pay back approximately $5.1 million in unpaid income tax.

The court rejected Sanchez-Vicario’s assertion that she was a resident of Andorra and not Spain from 1989 to 1993.

The court said in its ruling Thursday that the three-time French Open champion “never effectively lived in Andorra and never had the intention of doing it in any moment, either.”

The 37-year-old Barcelona native, who also won the U.S. Open in 1994, was appealing the decision from a high court ruling in July 2003.

Checking In

While preparing for my mothers to come and visit, who will keep me busy till Tuesday, I've missed a few tidbits.

No one watched the women's US Open final. This is a relative statement of course, but still... (Thanks, Savannah)

::

Sam Querrey fell through a glass table and injured his arm. Glad it wasn't more serious, but would it be insensitive to call him a klutz?

::

Gustavo Kuerten celebrates the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

Former ATP World Tour No. 1 Gustavo Kuerten, who attended the election ceremony to host the 2016 Olympic Games in Copenhagen, Denmark, on Friday, is delighted Rio de Janeiro was selected as the host city.

“It is amazing,” said Kuerten. “Some years ago this chance seemed so far [away], but I believed that Brazil was getting prepared to face this new opportunity.

“I think that we [have] got everything quite will organized, and as a consequence we will have the chance to develop all kinds of sports in our country.”

Kuerten competed for Brazil at two Olympic Games at Sydney in 2000 and Athens four years later.

Brazil is the first South American country to host the Olympic Games. Rio won a majority of the 95 votes, eliminating Madrid in the final round. Tokyo and Chicago had already been knocked out.

All I can say is:

It's. About. Damn. Time.

::


Getty

Miss 100% won her first title in forever. It took Miss Drama Queen to hand it to her, but whatever.

::

Rafael Superman Nadal, Olympic Champion

As the commentator who introduced the match on USA network said, Rafael Nadal, no longer a "claycourt specialist" can beat anybody, at any time, on any surface. If he's not careful, the moniker Superman is going to stick.

The Spaniard wins Olympic Gold on his first try. A truly remarkable feat. He has now won four of the last five big events. Tomorrow he will be rewarded with the official No. 1 ranking.

As for the match, there isn't much to say other than Rafa showed out, Fernando Gonzalez did the best he could, but it just wasn't enough to even win a set.

On to the US Open.

Williams Sisters Win Another Gold

What would American tennis be without the sisters?

Russian Sweep, Dementieva Wins Gold

Phelps Wins 8th Gold, Breaks Tie With Spitz

BEIJING (AP) — Michael Phelps won his record eighth gold medal Sunday at the Beijing Olympics as a member of the victorious U.S. 400-meter medley relay team, breaking a tie with Mark Spitz for most golds in a single games.

Aaron Peirsol, Brendan Hansen, Phelps and Jason Lezak won in a world-record of 3 minutes, 29.34 seconds, lowering the old mark of 3:30.68 set four years ago in Athens.

The U.S. swept the men's relays in Beijing, with Phelps leading off in the 400 and 800 free relays. Lezak anchored the 400 free to a narrow victory over France to preserve Phelps' historic bid.

Australia took the silver in 3:30.04.

Japan earned the bronze in 3:31.18.

Men's Doubles Medal Ceremony

Roger Federer Gets His Gold

Rafael Nadal to Play for Gold

Rafael Nadal broke his 2008 hardcourt losing streak to Novak Djokovic, outlasting him 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 to advance to the gold medal match.

The world No. 3 was favored to win this match after defeating Rafa in straight sets in Indian Wells and Cincinnati this year. But once Rafa won the first set, it was going to be mentally and physicaly difficult for Djoke to rally.

He's never beaten Rafa in three-set match.

This installment showed us why. Rafa got off to a fast start, but then starting choking, as he has done a lot this year, toward the business end of the first set. He failed to serve out the set on his first try.

Djoke took advantage of Rafa's nerves in the second set and decided to hit throw his own by bashing the cover off the ball.

It worked. Before I could settle into the set, it was over.

But it also took a physical toll on the top dog wannabe. He had to throw his entire body into every shot just to get the ball by Rafa who was making Djoke run, run, run.

In the final set, Rafa kept grinding Djoke down. Some long rallies produced some spectacular shotmaking, but the wheels were coming off Djoke as the set wore on. When he finally bashed an overhead out on matchpoint, he could hardly believe it.

I saw it coming. He didn't even move his feet before he raised his racquet to hit the ball, and since it was the second or third overhead he had to hit on that point because Rafa's relentless defense allowed him to throw up lob after lob, Djoke gave up.

He wept as he walked off the court.

Rafa will face 2004 bronze medalist Fernando Gonzalez, who's already been compared to Justine Henin for failing to give James Blake a point he didn't earn.

There will be nerves.

The player who handles them better will win.

Losing Faith

I had to miss the James Blake and Fernando Gonazalez semifinal. But I just saw his remarks after the match on the television. He gave a somber and comprehensive analysis of the point the umpire awarded to Gonzalez after a ball skimmed his racquet and fell out. The point should have been Blake's. But according to James, "Fernando looked me square in the eye and didn't call it." After lauding the spirit of Olympic competition and the hard work of the athletes in all sports, Blake claimed that if the roles were reversed, his father would have pulled him off the court for acting like that. He finished by saying that he has lost a little faith in this competitor.

From a man who's always gracious and often so deferential, even when he has no reason to be, his statement was about as controversial as any you'll hear from him.

If you saw the match, tell us what you saw.

Olympic Tennis Results

Men's Singles - Gold Medal Match
(2) NADAL Rafael (ESP) d (12) GONZALEZ Fernando (CHI) 63 76(2) 63

Men's Singles - Bronze Medal Match
(3) DJOKOVIC Novak (SRB) d (8) BLAKE James (USA) 63 76(4)

Women's Singles - Gold Medal Match
(5) Elena Dementieva (RUS) d. (6) Dinara Safina (RUS) 36 75 63

Women's Singles - Bronze Medal Match
(9) Vera Zvonareva (RUS) d. Li Na (CHN) 60 75

Men's Singles - Semifinals
(12) GONZALEZ Fernando (CHI) d (8) BLAKE James (USA) 46 75 11-9
(2) NADAL Rafael (ESP) d (3) DJOKOVIC Novak (SRB) 64 16 64

Women's Singles - Semifinals
(5) Elena Dementieva (RUS) d. (9) Vera Zvonareva (RUS) 63 76(3)
(6) Dinara Safina (RUS) d. Li Na (CHN) 76(3) 75



Men's Singles - Quarterfinals
(8) BLAKE James (USA) d (1) FEDERER Roger (SUI) 64 76(2)
(2) NADAL Rafael (ESP) d MELZER Jurgen (AUT) 60 64
(3) DJOKOVIC Novak (SRB) d MOFILS Gael (FRA) 46 61 64
(12) GONZALEZ Fernando (CHI) d MATHIEU Paul-Henri (FRA) 64 64



Women's Singles - Quarterfinals
(6) Dinara Safina (RUS) d. (2) Jelena Jankovic (SRB) 62 57 63
(5) Elena Dementieva (RUS) d. (4) Serena Williams (USA) 36 64 63
Li Na (CHN) d. (7) Venus Williams (USA) 75 75
(9) Vera Zvonareva (RUS) d. Sybille Bammer (AUT) 63 36 63



Men's Singles - Third Round
(1) FEDERER Roger (SUI) d (17) BERDYCH Tomas (CZE) 63 76(4)
(2) NADAL Rafael (ESP) d ANDREEV Igor (RUS) 64 62
(3) DJOKOVIC Novak (SRB) d (13) YOUZHNY Mikhail (RUS) 76(3) 63
MONFILS Gael (FRA) d (7) NALBANDIAN David (ARG) 64 64
(8) BLAKE James (USA) d (10) SIMON Gilles (FRA) 64 62
(12) GONZALEZ Fernando (CHI) d ROCHUS Olivier (BEL) 60 63
MATHIEU Paul-Henri (FRA) d (15) KIEFER Nicolas (GER) 63 75
MELZER Jurgen (AUT) d LU Yen-Hsun (TPE) 62 64



Women's Singles - Third Round
(2) Jelena Jankovic (SRB) d. (16) Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) 75 61
(4) Serena Williams (USA) d. (15) Alizé Cornet (FRA) 36 63 64
(5) Elena Dementieva (RUS) d. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) 76(3) 62
(6) Dinara Safina (RUS) d. Zheng Jie (CHN) 64 63
(7) Venus Williams (USA) d. (12) Victoria Azarenka (BLR) 63 62
(9) Vera Zvonareva (RUS) d. Francesca Schiavone (ITA) 76(4) 64
Sybille Bammer (AUT) d. Lucie Safarova (CZE) 75 64
Li Na (CHN) d. Kaia Kanepi (EST) 46 62 60



Men's Singles - Second Round
(2) NADAL Rafael (ESP) d HEWITT Lleyton (AUS) 61 62
(3) DJOKOVIC Novak (SRB) d SCHUETTLER Rainer (GER) 64 62
MATHIEU Paul-Henri (FRA) d (4) DAVYDENKO Nikolay (RUS) 75 63
(7) NALBANDIAN David (ARG) d (IP) MASSU Nicolas (CHI) 76(0) 61
MELZER Jurgen (AUT) d (9) WAWRINKA Stanislas (SUI) 64 60
(10) SIMON Gilles (FRA) d CANAS Guillermo (ARG) 75 61
(13) YOUZHNY Mikhail (RUS) d JOHANSSON Thomas (SWE) 75 62
(15) KIEFER Nicolas (GER) d (IP) ANDERSON Kevin (RSA) 64 67(4) 64
(17) BERDYCH Tomas (CZE) d SEPPI Andreas (ITA) 63 76(4)
MONFILS Gael (FRA) d HANESCU Victor (ROU) 64 76(5)
LU Yen-Hsun (TPE) d CALLERI Agustin (ARG) 64 64
ANDREEV Igor (RUS) d LLODRA Michael (FRA) 64 36 61
ROCHUS Olivier (BEL) d TIPSAREVIC Janko (SRB) 76(5) 23 ret.
(1) FEDERER Roger (SUI) vs (INV) AREVALO Rafael (ESA)
HRBATY Dominik (SVK) vs (8) BLAKE James (USA)
(12) GONZALEZ Fernando (CHI) vs CILIC Marin (CRO)



Women's Singles - Second Round
(2) Jelena Jankovic (SRB) d. Alona Bondarenko (UKR) 75 61
(4) Serena Williams (USA) d. Samantha Stosur (AUS) 62 60
(5) Elena Dementieva (RUS) d. Sofia Arvidsson (SWE) 63 64
(6) Dinara Safina (RUS) d. María José Martínez Sánchez (ESP) 76(3) 61
(7) Venus Williams (USA) d. Iveta Benesova (CZE) 61 64
Francesca Schiavone (ITA) d. (8) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) 63 76(6)
(9) Vera Zvonareva (RUS) d. Shahar Peer (ISR) 63 76(4)
Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) d. (10) Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) 61 63
(12) Victoria Azarenka (BLR) d. Casey Dellacqua (AUS) 62 62
(15) Alizé Cornet (FRA) d. Peng Shuai (CHN) 62 62
(16) Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) d. Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL) 62 62
Sybille Bammer (AUT) d. Patty Schnyder (SUI) 64 64
Zheng Jie (CHN) d. Nuria Llagostera Vives (ESP) 67(7) 61 64
Kaia Kanepi (EST) d. Virginie Razzano (FRA) 64 75



Men's Singles - First Round
(1) FEDERER Roger (SUI) d TURSUNOV Dmitry (RUS) 64 62
(2) NADAL Rafael (ESP) d STARACE Potito (ITA) 62 36 62
(3) DJOKOVIC Novak (SRB) d GINEPRI Robby (USA) 64 64
TIPSAREVIC Janko (SRB) d (5) FERRER David (ESP) 76(8) 62
LU Yen-Hsun (TPE) d (6) MURRAY Andy (GBR) 76(5) 64
(7) NALBANDIAN David (ARG) d (A) ZENG Shaoxuan (CHN) 62 61
(9) WAWRINKA Stanislas (SUI) d DANCEVIC Frank (CAN) 46 63 62
(10) SIMON Gilles (FRA) d SODERLING Robin (SWE) 64 64
MONFILS Gael (FRA) d (11) ALMAGRO Nicolas (ESP) 64 36 63
(13) YOUZHNY Mikhail (RUS) d VANEK Jiri (CZE) 64 61
(15) KIEFER Nicolas (GER) d (IP) MIRNYI Max (BLR) 63 61
LLODRA Michael (FRA) d (16) STEPANEK Radek (CZE) 46 76(5) 11-9
JOHANSSON Thomas (SWE) d NIEMINEN Jarkko (FIN) 46 64 64
SEPPI Andreas (ITA) d ROBREDO Tommy (ESP) 64 46 86
MATHIEU Paul-Henri (FRA) d LAPENTTI Nicolas (ECU) 76(4) 62
HANESCU Victor (ROU) d BOLELLI Simone (ITA) 75 36 64
ROCHUS Olivier (BEL) d MINAR Ivo (CZE) 63 36 63
ANDREEV Igor (RUS) d QUERREY Sam (USA) 64 64
HRBATY Dominik (SVK) d BELLUCCI Thomaz (BRA) 26 64 62
CILIC Marin (CRO) d MONACO Juan (ARG) 64 67(5) 63
CALLERI Agustin (ARG) d (A) MULLINGS Devin (BAH) 61 61
SCHUETTLER Rainer (GER) d (IP) NISHIKORI Kei (JPN) 64 67(5) 63
HEWITT Lleyton (AUS) d (IP) BJORKMAN Jonas (SWE) 75 76(2)
(IP) MASSU Nicolas (CHI) d DARCIS Steve (BEL) 64 75
(IP) ANDERSON Kevin (RSA) d (INV) LOGLO Komlavi (TOG) 63 62
(INV) AREVALO Rafael (ESA) d LEE Hyung-Taik (KOR) 46 63 64
MELZER Jurgen (AUT) d DANIEL Marcos (BRA) 67(9) 61 86



Women's Singles - First Round
(2) Jelena Jankovic (SRB) d. Cara Black (ZIM) 63 63
Li Na (CHN) d. (3) Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) 76(5) 64
(4) Serena Williams (USA) d. Olga Govortsova (BLR) 63 61
(5) Elena Dementieva (RUS) d. Kateryna Bondarenko (UKR) 61 64
(6) Dinara Safina (RUS) d. Mara Santangelo (ITA) 63 76(1)
(7) Venus Williams (USA) d. Timea Bacsinszky (SUI) 63 62
(8) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) d. Chan Yung-Jan (TPE) 61 76(6)
(9) Vera Zvonareva (RUS) d. Yan Zi (CHN) 62 60
(10) Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) d. Ai Sugiyama (JPN) 62 75
Zheng Jie (CHN) d. (11) Agnes Szavay (HUN) 46 63 75
(12) Victoria Azarenka (BLR) d. Tatiana Perebiynis (UKR) 64 57 64
(13) Patty Schnyder (SUI) d. Jill Craybas (USA) 63 62
Kaia Kanepi (EST) d. (14) Flavia Pennetta (ITA) 62 76(6)
(15) Alizé Cornet (FRA) d. Nicole Vaidisova (CZE) 46 61 64
(16) Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) d. Pauline Parmentier (FRA) 61 75
Shahar Peer (ISR) d. Sorana Cirstea (ROU) 63 57 60
Virginie Razzano (FRA) d. Eleni Daniilidou (GRE) 63 63
Alona Bondarenko (UKR) d. Milagros Sequera (VEN) 36 01 ret. (right ankle injury)
Sybille Bammer (AUT) d. Anabel Medina Garrigues (ESP) 62 46 64
Casey Dellacqua (AUS) d. Gisela Dulko (ARG) 63 64
Peng Shuai (CHN) d. Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP) 75 76(2)
Iveta Benesova (CZE) d. Sania Mirza (IND) 61 21 ret. (right wrist injury)
Sofia Arvidsson (SWE) d. Tamarine Tanasugarn (THA) 62 61
Lucie Safarova (CZE) d. Maret Ani (EST) 64 62
María José Martínez Sánchez (ESP) d. Alicia Molik (AUS) 61 61
Nuria Llagostera Vives (ESP) d. Klara Zakopalova (CZE) 26 63 75
Mariya Koryttseva (UKR) d. Tzipora Obziler (ISR) 57 75 64
Ayumi Morita (JPN) d. Marina Erakovic (NZL) 57 76(7) 64

Blake Finally Beats Federer in Beijing

BEIJING (AP)— Roger Federer’s bid for his first Olympic singles medal ended Thursday night when he lost to American James Blake.

With the sort of lackluster performance once unthinkable for Federer, he was eliminated in the quarterfinals 6-4, 7-6 (2).

The upset was a stunner in that Blake had won only a single set in their previous eight matches. But the top-seeded Federer is battling a yearlong slump that has left him stalled at 12 major titles, two shy of Pete Sampras’ record.

His Wimbledon reign ended last month, and he came to Beijing knowing he would lose the No. 1 ranking after 41/2 years to Rafael Nadal next week.

Federer’s latest defeat means no rematch in Sunday’s final against Nadal, who won in epic fashion when they met for the Wimbledon title.

Federer had been seeking his first Olympic medal after losing in the singles semifinals in Sydney and in the second round in Athens. He was scheduled to play a quarterfinal doubles match later Thursday with Swiss partner Stanislas Wawrinka.

The upset was sweet for the No. 8-seeded Blake, a first-time Olympian at 28 and the lone U.S. male to survive the first round of singles.

Read the rest of the AP report...

::

So, in 2008, after winning so many matches in a row against American men that I lost count, Federer loses to Mardy Fish, Andy Roddick, and Blake.

What a great victory for Blake on such a big stage.

Let's see if he can do one better than his good buddy Fish four years ago and take the gold.

Olympic Tennis Day 2

It's hard to blog a tennis event if you can't watch the tennis. My schedule is still wacked and since so little is on television, I can't record the matches and watched them later.

Savannah has had some luck:

It's brutal watching tennis in the States during Beijing. We're used to scoreboard watching except that there isn't one in the traditional tennis fashion. The official NBC site does give results but it's still frustrating to navigate.

So far I haven't seen one tennis match on television. All the tennis I've seen has been online. Once again I have to commend NBC and the ITF for the quality of their online broadcasts. There have been problems with buffering but otherwise the quality has been fantastic. I had to upload a plug in to see it but so far it's been worth it.

Read the rest of her Day 2 summary. She's got a Day 1 recap up as well.

Greatest Olympian in HIstory

BEIJING (AP) — Michael Phelps has become the winningest Olympic athlete ever, earning his fourth gold medal of the Beijing Games with a world record in the 200-meter butterfly. The American touched in 1 minute, 52.03 seconds, breaking his old mark of 1:52.09 set at last year's world championships in Australia.

It was Phelps' 10th career gold medal, breaking a tie with Mark Spitz, Carl Lewis and two others for most golds. He is 4-for-4 so far, setting world records in each of his events.

Olympic Tennis: Who's Watching?

I've seen snippets today of two men's matches. Roger Federer beat Dmitry Tursunov and Novak Djokovic slammed Robby Ginepri.

I've been too busy with guests to have the energy to stay up all night and watch the video streams.

Who's watching? Who's in good form? Did Andy Murray really lose his first match?

Cullen Jones Makes History, U.S. Wins 400 Free

I missed this historic event last night, but when I read the article this morning, I immediately broke out into tears.

::

BEIJING - When Cullen Jones powered through the water Sunday night, chasing history, the charismatic kid who learned to swim in Newark could hear the roar from a half a world away. Amid the deafening cheers from the thousands squeezed into the National Aquatics Center, Jones felt the support from the scores of people that he touched along an incredible and unlikely path that began in inner city pools and led him here to the world's biggest stage. An ambassador for African-American swimmers, Jones wanted to shatter stereotypes one lap at a time, eager to spread his message that, yeah, black kids can swim, too.

He also wanted to help out a buddy on his own personal mission.

Jones accomplished both by helping the 4X100 freestyle relay team win the gold medal in a comeback for the ages. In a race soaked with drama and subplots, the Americans shattered the world record they had set just hours earlier in the prelims, blistering through the water in 3 minutes, 8.24 seconds.





Trailing after three legs, anchor Jason Lezak erased a huge gap to overtake and out-touch French world record holder Alain Bernard to set off a wild celebration. A few days after Bernard declared his team would "smash" the Americans in the finals, the U.S. team authored a stunning chapter in these Olympics.

"We beat a team in most people's mind was not beatable," said U.S. coach Eddie Reese. "It was amazing. (Lezak's leg) had to be the best ever and it was the best ever. That's the kind of anchor you dream of."

Jones became the second African-American swimmer to win a gold medal as the team kept Michael Phelps' quest for an unprecedented eight golds alive. But it was Lezak's fastest split in history at 46.06 seconds and mad dash in the final frenzied moments when he hunted down Bernard after being behind by more than eight-tenths of a second that had everyone buzzing.

Read the rest...

Phelps Smashes World Record in First Race

BEIJING (AP) — Michael Phelps set a world record Sunday to win his first gold medal of the Beijing Olympics, beating rival Ryan Lochte in the 400-meter individual medley with a time of 4 minutes, 3.84 seconds.

Phelps, trying to break Mark Spitz's record of seven gold medals, crushed his old mark of 4:05.25 in the 400 IM, set in June at the U.S. Olympic trials.

Laszlo Cseh of Hungary rallied to take the silver medal in 4:06.16, while Lochte faded to the bronze in 4:08.09.

Scenes From the Opening Ceremony

New York Times has an incredible photo gallery here.