The Opening Ceremony of Beijing Olympics 2008 is just 18 hours away.
Coincidentally, today is also Roger Federer's birthday. He received an early present, a tough draw in the first round against Russia’s Dmitry Tursunov.
It's slightly better for soon-to-be world no. 1, Rafael Nadal could face a tough second round match meeting either Lleyton Hewitt of Australia or veteran Jonas Bjorkman of Sweden.
No. 3-ranked Novak Djokovic faces American Robby Ginepri, and No. 8 James Blake will start against Chris Guccione of Australia on the path to a possible quarterfinal meeting with Federer. Chile’s Nicolas Massu, the gold medalist in Athens, faces Belgium’s Steve Darcis.
Both of host China’s representatives drew daunting first-round matchups. No. 7 David Nalbandian of Argentina will take on Zeng Shaoxuan, while Sun Peng will face 12th-seeded Fernando Gonzalez of Chile, a bronze medalist in Athens.
The top seeds in the women side are luckier. Top-seeded Ana Ivanovic of Serbia drew Ukraine’s Mariya Koryttseva, while second-seeded Jelena Jankovic also of Serbia will face Zimbabwe’s Cara Black, who drew an Olympic wild card to make the tournament after another competitor withdrew.
Fourth-seeded Serena opening against Belarus’ Olga Govortsova and No. 7 Venus facing Switzerland’s Timea Bacsinszky. Lindsay Davenport, the Olympic champion in Atlanta 12 years ago, drew Australia’s Alicia Molik, who won a bronze medal in Athens.
Three of China’s four women’s representatives also drew ranked opponents. Li Na must face No. 3 Svetlana Kuznetsova, while Wimbledon semifinalist Zheng Jie will meet 11th-seeded Agnes Szavay of Hungary, and Yan Zi takes on ninth-seeded Vera Zvonareva of Russia.
Well, I say it's tough for the Chinese men and women in tennis.
For the complete draw, click here for the men's singles draw and here for the women's singles draw.
(Images via ITF website, texts mostly via Yahoo! Sports)
In less than 24 hours, we'll be witnessing the Opening Ceremony of Beijing Olympics 2008. Many top players are already here in Beijing.
We'll have a quick look at who has arrived yesterday. So far I've not seen Cincinnati Masters champion, Andy Murray yet.
And too bad, many high profile players such as Marcos Baghdatis, Andy Roddick, Richard Gasquet, Nikolay Davydenko as well as Mario Sharapova are not here to add glitter to this event. Shame on them.
Elena Dementieva (Russia) 
Venus Williams (USA) 
Lindsay Davenport (USA)
Jelena Jankovic (Serbia)
Novak Djokovic (Serbia)
And hey, the French tennis Olympic's team players (from left) Paul-Henry Mathieu, Youlia Fedossova, Alize Cornet, Gael Monfils, coach George Goven and former player Cedric Pioline pose at the "Club France".
(Images via Great Tennis Photos, GABRIEL BOUYS/CHRISTOPHE SIMON/AFP/Michael Steele/Getty Images)
This is not the first time we see Miroslava "Mirka" Vavrinec looking bored, especially on court. Check out this post.
Mirka is a former women tennis player for Switzerland (she was born in Slovakia but later emigrated to Switzerland). Mirka and Roger Federer has been inseparable ever since they laid eyes on each other at the Sydney Olympics in the year 2000.
You can see her in almost every single tournament, including during this training session at the Olympic Green Tennis Centre in Beijing.
But seriously, I'm not sure if Mirka presence these days are going to help Federer in his upcoming games.
By the way, Mirka, have you plan a birthday party for Federer?
(Images via Reuters)
Honestly, you don't want to miss this publication by the International Tennis Federation (ITF).
In this 140-page publication called 'Journey to Beijing – Tennis celebrates the Olympics' that is intended to promote the 2008 Beijing Olympic tennis event, over 40 of the world’s leading tennis players were photographed dressed as athletes from other Olympic sports.
These black and white photos are accompanied by exclusive interviews on the topic regarding the Olympics.
According to the ITF website, the photographs were taken over a six-month period by some of the world’s leading tennis photographers, with photo shoots held in venues as varied as Barcelona, Beijing, Dubai, Indian Wells, Los Angeles, Miami, Melbourne, Moscow, Netherlands, Palm Beach, Santiago, Shanghai and Tel Aviv.
Among the 44 players represented in the book are the two current world number ones, Roger Federer, who poses as a fencer, and Ana Ivanovic, who is shown playing beach volleyball, both in Miami. Rafael Nadal appears as a footballer on location in Shanghai, while Novak Djokovic takes advantage of Dubai’s indoor ski slope.
Maria Sharapova takes time out from a photo shoot to try rhythmic gymnastics in Los Angeles, while Serena Williams demonstrates her ice skating abilities at home in Palm Beach. Olympic champions Nicolas Massu and Fernando Gonzalez become marathon runners on the streets of Santiago, while wheelchair world No. 1 Esther Vergeer shows her versatility as a basketball player in the Netherlands.
ITF President Francesco Ricci Bitti said: “I believe the book shows how proud current tennis players are to represent their countries in the Olympic Games as well as the importance the Olympics has played in their lives. In turn, we have witnessed the continued growth, not only of the Olympic Tennis Event, but also of the international reach of our sport since tennis returned to the Olympic Games in 1988.”
Click on this link to view ‘Journey to Beijing – Tennis celebrates the Olympics'.
(Via ITF)
