Games final could see Wimbledon repeat
Games final could see Wimbledon repeat
Top seed Roger Federer could meet Britain's Andy Murray
in the Olympic tennis final in a repeat of their Wimbledon showdown
earlier this month, after the pair were drawn on opposite sides of the
competition on Thursday.
World number one and 17-times grand slam champion
Federer, seeking his first Olympic singles medal, will play Colombia's
Alejandro Falla in the opening round.
Federer, who beat Murray to a secure a record-equalling
seventh Wimbledon title, battled back from two sets down to beat Falla
in the Wimbledon first round in 2010.
Serbia's Novak Djokovic, seeded two, will take on
Italy's Fabio Fognini, referee Stefan Fransson said, unveiling the draw
in a lounge at Wimbledon's centre court adorned with large photos of
London landmarks including Buckingham Palace and the London Eye.
Djokovic, who won bronze in Beijing, is in the same
half of the draw as British number one Murray, who he would meet in the
semi-finals.
Before that third seed Murray will have to beat
Federer's fellow-Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka in his opening match, an
announcement which drew a noisy response from a room packed with team
leaders, officials and media.
Murray has won six of the ten times the pair have met previously.
"It is a tough draw for both guys," Federer told reporters.
"They are good friends and I think they even practised
twice together in the last three days so they are well prepared for each
other ... but obviously Murray goes in to that match as a favourite, he
goes into the tournament as one of the favourites."
Wawrinka, who was out practising on a sun-drenched
court three on Thursday morning, is carrying the Swiss flag in Friday
evening's opening ceremony and will have to wait until the schedule of
play is released that day to find out if he will have to play on the
first day of the competition on Saturday.
Women's top seed Belarusian Victoria Azarenka will play
Romanian world number 79 Irina-Camelia Begu in the first round, while
America's Serena Williams, fresh from her fifth Wimbledon title, takes
on former world number one Jelena Jankovic of Serbia.
Neither of Beijing's singles gold medallists will be
returning to defend their titles, after Spain's Rafa Nadal was forced to
pull out through injury and Russia's Elena Dementieva retired. But the
draw is the strongest ever, with 18 of the world's top 20 men and 19 of
the top 20 women taking part.
"It is a very important event. The field is packed with
top players and everyone is taking it seriously," said eighth seed
Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki, who faces Britain's Anne Keothavong in the
first round. "She has home advantage."
Top seeded men's duo Mike and Bob Bryan, who won bronze
in Beijing, will begin their medal campaign by playing Brazil's Thomaz
Bellucci and Andre Sa, and could face defending doubles gold medallists
Federer and Wawrinka in the quarter-finals.
In the women's doubles, top seeded American's Liezel
Huber and Lisa Raymond get a pass to the second round after the
withdrawal of Ukraine's Alona and Kateryna Bondarenko due to injury.
Unseeded defending gold medallists Venus and Serena Williams will take on Romania's Sorana Cirstea and Simona Halep.
