Gold medal up for grabs

It may sound like sacrilege, but in the world of pro tennis, the Olympics are a novelty, and an often inconvenient one at that. Russia's Mikhail Youzhny said it best in an interview with the ITF: "In all other sports they have four years to be ready for the Olympic Games. Tennis players don't have even have four days. … It will be a tough Olympics for all players."
 
But someone will take advantage of the opportunity to win Olympic hardware. The players have arrived in smoggy Beijing, and there's nothing like the fervor of an opening ceremony under the flags (and don't forget the addition of ranking points this year) to help an athlete find motivation. So who will find it?
 
In his last tournament at No. 1 before Rafael Nadal takes the reigns, Roger Federer said a win at the Olympics could save his season. But considering how he's been playing, it won't be an easy road to gold. In the third round, he could face either giant Ivo Karlovic, who played giant killer last week in Cincinnati by beating Federer, or Tomas Berdych, who knocked Federer out of the Athens Games four years ago. Another challenge could come in the quarters against James Blake, who has never beaten Federer but might benefit from Federer's dissipating invincibility.
 
As for the soon-to-be No. 1, Nadal could have a hot Andy Murray on his hands in the quarterfinals. Just off his first Masters Series win in Cincinnati, where he beat Novak Djokovic in the final, Murray will look to take a souvenir medal home to Britain. But judging by his commitment to his country in Davis Cup, Nadal will represent Spain well in his first Olympic singles event. His biggest challenge, however, will be a possible semifinal bout with Djokovic, who beat him last week in Cincinnati.
 
On the women's side, the pressure is on for the Chinese women at their home Olympics. China's No. 1 Zheng Jie raised her game on tour leading up to Beijing. While ranked No. 133, she got all the way to the semifinals at Wimbledon. She could prove a major obstacle to gold for Dinara Safina and Jelena Jankovic, who are both in her quarter. The Chinese No. 2, Li Na, will be a tough first-round opponent for Svetlana Kuznetsova, possibly leaving the door open for Venus Williams to reach the semis.
 
The top women with what look like the easiest roads to the semifinals are Ana Ivanovic and Serena Williams, who are in the same half of the draw. Ivanovic's biggest obstacles may be Patty Schnyder and Agnieszka Radwanska, and Serena has Elena Dementieva and up-and-coming Alize Cornet in her quarter. Look for Serena to get through as she, along with her sister Venus, should be rested after a summer off with knee injuries.
 
With little preparation and a sliding scale of what's on the line -- rankings points, national pride, an entire season -- Beijing is bound to be interesting.

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