Are Players Crazy for Entering the Olympics?

[Kieran]

The tennis tournament in the Olympics runs from Saturday 6th til Sunday 14th August. It's kinda lumped itself into the summer schedule, driving a huge wedge between the Canada-Cinci double, and disrupting the US Open series of hard court events, causing significant changes to players usual schedules and ideas about "peaking at the right time for the Open", etc.

Plus there's the Zika virus, and a rump of fans beliefs that tennis has no place in the Olympics, it's a bauble, a cheap tin trinket, not a part of our glorious tradition, and it doesn't even have any points to go towards the players rankings.

Against this, the Olympics has its own unique place in sports, it has legends which transcend their own disciplines, it's a celebration of the greatest and the finest, and the most tawdry and scandalous, and all the human elements we bring to sports.

So are you for it, or against it? Should tennis players bother? Can you cheer for your favourite when he might be a Serb playing under the Serbian flag, against a US player, representing your country? Or any other combo of nationalities could be used here. What you think?

 

[El Dude]

I see the Olympics as being somewhat separate from the main ATP tour, sort of like the Davis Cup. If there was ever a year to skip it, this would be the year.

 

[Rational National]

I believe that they should treat the Olympics like the final stage of le Tour at the Champs-Élysées - in that over the past 15 years Roger Federer has 'won the race' and everyone playing him should pop open a glass of champagne have a bit of a hit then retire allowing him access to the final and ultimately his gold medal. The only problem is how you allocate the medals underneath, I would say that Novak should be given Silver seeing as he did something similarly altruistic for Del Potro 4 years ago and he 'only' has a bronze from Beijing - Rafa has gold already so nothing for him I'm afraid... But for Bronze, well Murray doesn't need it already with his Gold and Silver in the vault and seeing how he is on course for his second US Open and 4th slam towards his overall 12 (see Kieran's other thread for my soothsaying foresight). Nishikori will obviously win Tokyo, so he gets nothing this time around.. So I would say the only fair way of doing is to mummify, Raonic, Cilic, Tsonga, Gasquet, Berdych and home favourite Belluci, in mosquito nets and the first to roll out and throw obsequious platitudes to a now throned and winged Roger Federer gets bronze - there can be no other way

 

[Kieran]

Haha, took the words straight outta my mouth... :laydownlaughing

 

[GameSetAndMath]

I really commend ATP for coming up with a creative schedule this year to deal with Olympics. In the past, usually some big tourney was thrown under the bus due to Olympics as players cannot be at two places in one time.

This year the schedule for the post-Wimbledon and pre-USO period is as follows (ignoring minor clay tourneys)

Week 1: Hamburg Clay 500, Newport Grass 250, DC
Week 2: Washington Hard 500
Week 3: Toronto 1000
Week 4: Atlanta Hard 250, Rio Olympics
Week 5: Las Cabos Hard 250, Rio Olympics
Week 6: Cincinnati 1000
Week 7: Winston-Salem Hard 250, US Open Qualifying.

By moving the dates around from the normal routine, they have ensured that Olympics does not interfere with either one of the Hard Court Master's 1000 tourneys which serves as a warm-up for USO.
The only tourneys that share time with Olympics are small 250 tourneys. Great Job ATP!.

 

[Kieran]

Those poor people of Las Cabos :cry

 

[Luxilon Borg]

great thread title.

Tennis has NO place in the Olympics. I was never a huge Olympics fan but I am a purist.

It should be for AMATEUR athletes. It is absurd that pro athletes can play, and when basket ball allowed it was even more pathetic. Why not pro boxers? Pro gymnasts?

If I was a player I would skip it without a second thought. Not to mention Davis Cup obligations are far more important. Just my take.

 

[Tennisman12345]

Those poor people of Las Cabos :cry

I checked the player entry list it's actually quite a good line up especially when they are competing with the olympics for players and it's only a 250 event.

As for tennis in the olympics a good thing for me as I am not really interested in most events at the olympics:s :-/ :huh:

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Tennis players dope as much as track and field athletes or any other Olympic sportsmen. Therefore, I don't see why tennis should not be part of Olympics. Isn't Olympics the place where dopers around the world join together and sing Kumbhaya.

 

[Luxilon Borg]

Tennis players dope as much as track and field athletes or any other Olympic sportsmen. Therefore, I don't see why tennis should not be part of Olympics. Isn't Olympics the place where dopers around the world join together and sing Kumbhaya.

Are you gonna show us proof of mass doping or are you just mouthing off?:laydownlaughing

 

[Kieran]

Tennis players dope as much as track and field athletes or any other Olympic sportsmen. Therefore, I don't see why tennis should not be part of Olympics. Isn't Olympics the place where dopers around the world join together and sing Kumbhaya.

They also use up a record amount of condoms. I think tennis players campaigned to be there for that specific reason... :snicker

 

[isabelle]

Gold medal is a main goal for any athlete, tennis has his place in OG of course even if it's only 1 year on 4, the ones who skip it haven't understood anything in sport, they should be honored to play for their country

 

[Kieran]

They play for their country in Davis Cup (just so long as it doesn't intrude on their solo affairs), but do tennis players really play for their country in the Olympics? I tend to think of them as solitary creatures, selfish and on the mooch for personal glory, at all times , because that's what they're training for, to be the best they can be at the slams. I never heard of a player saying, "when I was a little kid, I went to bed dreaming about winning the Davis Cup, and the Olympics, for my country!"

But of course, they love to represent their country too, but only when it suits. I tend to think they play the Olympics because they want to rub shoulders in history with Jesse Owens, Michael Phelps, amateur Cuban boxers, and great long distance skinny blokes...

 

[Carol]

In my opinion I don't think Rafa should play in this Olympics, he has already one Golden Medal, he is coming back from an injury and he should be focus for the USO
Anyway he has started to practice

https://mobile.twitter.com/rnadalacademy/status/751459675623845888/photo/1

 

[the AntiPusher]

In my opinion I don't think Rafa should play in this Olympics, he has already one Golden Medal, he is coming back from an injury and he should be focus for the USO
Anyway he has started to practice

https://mobile.twitter.com/rnadalacademy/status/751459675623845888/photo/1

Maybe he needs to be reminded of how he got clowned by the Fog last year in USO

 

[Carol]

In my opinion I don't think Rafa should play in this Olympics, he has already one Golden Medal, he is coming back from an injury and he should be focus for the USO
Anyway he has started to practice

https://mobile.twitter.com/rnadalacademy/status/751459675623845888/photo/1

Maybe he needs to be reminded of how he got clowned by the Fog last year in USO

Yep but sometimes I'm asking myself if he really cares against who he loses.......:nono

 

[Kieran]

In my opinion I don't think Rafa should play in this Olympics, he has already one Golden Medal, he is coming back from an injury and he should be focus for the USO
Anyway he has started to practice

https://mobile.twitter.com/rnadalacademy/status/751459675623845888/photo/1

Maybe he needs to be reminded of how he got clowned by the Fog last year in USO

Yep but sometimes I'm asking myself if he really cares against who he loses.......:nono

Of course he cares, nobody ever competed harder than Rafa, but losses are a part of the sport, unfortunately more so when players are in decline. I agree though that he should skip the Olympics. I doubt he's going to be even half in the kind of shape he needs to be in, and he's only being reckless with whatever he has left of his career as a top class player...

 

[the AntiPusher]

Maybe he needs to be reminded of how he got clowned by the Fog last year in USO

Yep but sometimes I'm asking myself if he really cares against who he loses.......:nono

Of course he cares, nobody ever competed harder than Rafa, but losses are a part of the sport, unfortunately more so when players are in decline. I agree though that he should skip the Olympics. I doubt he's going to be even half in the kind of shape he needs to be in, and he's only being reckless with whatever he has left of his career as a top class player...

I know he wants to carry the flag for his country, I get that he missed that opportunity in 2012. Go carry the flag and then "exit, stage left immediately" back to the US to prepare for the open.

 

[Carol]

Maybe he needs to be reminded of how he got clowned by the Fog last year in USO

Yep but sometimes I'm asking myself if he really cares against who he loses.......:nono

Of course he cares, nobody ever competed harder than Rafa, but losses are a part of the sport, unfortunately more so when players are in decline. I agree though that he should skip the Olympics. I doubt he's going to be even half in the kind of shape he needs to be in, and he's only being reckless with whatever he has left of his career as a top class player...

Of course he cares but not enough. I mean look what others players do to improve their game and more their confidence, coach here coach there, advisors here and there, etc etc etc besides to take a good care with their schedule which helps a lot too

 

[Carol]

Yep but sometimes I'm asking myself if he really cares against who he loses.......:nono

Of course he cares, nobody ever competed harder than Rafa, but losses are a part of the sport, unfortunately more so when players are in decline. I agree though that he should skip the Olympics. I doubt he's going to be even half in the kind of shape he needs to be in, and he's only being reckless with whatever he has left of his career as a top class player...

I know he wants to carry the flag for his country, I get that he missed that opportunity in 2012. Go carry the flag and then "exit, stage left immediately" back to the US to prepare for the open.

That would be the best thing that he can do but.......:huh: