Top Players Make Tough Decisions About Olympics

Since the return of tennis to the Olympic Games in 1988 some players have had to choose what is more important - the ranking or the gold

With the Athens Games quickly approaching, the top men’s players are arranging their schedules between the Western & Southern Financial Group Master, the Olympics, the U.S. Open, traveling and time for relaxation. For some, the chance to play for a gold medal is worth being tired for the final Grand Slam of the year.

“It’s the biggest sporting event in the world. I relish the opportunity to play,” said Andy Roddick, who made it to the W&S Masters semifinals. “It’s every four years which makes it that much more crucial. You don’t get a chance to say, “OK, there’s next year.”"

But for others, it seems more pertinent to take the time to rest between the Masters Series and the U.S. event.

“For me, the flying back and forth isn’t the best thing to do before a major that I’ve played extremely well in the past,” said Lleyton Hewitt, who lost the Cincinnati final to Andre Agassi. “That’s what it pretty much boiled down to for me.”

An Olympic gold will do little to boost a player’s ranking - the event is worth 80 points toward the champion’s race for the winner. Slams, on the other hand, are worth more than any other tennis tournaments - 200 points for the victor - while the Masters are each worth 100 for the winner. And with the U.S. Open coming at the conclusion of the season, those points could make or break players at the top of the list.

“If you win Grand Slams, you”ll put yourself in a position to be No. 1,” Hewitt said. “I”m not the kind of guy that’s going to go out and play every week to get my ranking one or two spots higher.”

By spending the open week in the United States, No. 5 Hewitt may have a better chance to adjust to the conditions leading up to the U.S. Open. He will take a week off before competing in an International Series event in Washington D.C. After that, he will have a week off before the Slam - with little traveling to worry about.

However, he won’t compete in matches against many of the same athletes who will be across the net from him in New York.

Instead that advantage will go to top players such as No. 1 Roger Federer and defending U.S. Open champion Roddick.

“Basically it is a goal to win every tournament very badly because I love playing matches and tournaments,” Federer said. “But I would say I would rather come home with a gold medal than maybe the U.S. Open. But that’s just this year because it’s the Olympic year.”

Federer most likely will not need to win the Olympics or the U.S. Open to hold on to his top ranking through the end of the year. With 882 points, he is well above the rest of the field with Roddick following at 597 points.

Rankings consist of points from the four Grand Slams, nine Masters Series events and a player’s best five other results from the International Series events. The top eight players at the time of the Tennis Masters Cup will get to count a 19th tournament toward their total score.

Hewitt has 401 points after his final appearance in the W&S Masters. If he does well in Washington D.C., he could add more points to that. It would also give him an added boost heading into the U.S. Open. He could face Agassi - the 34-year-old is a 1996 Olympic gold medalist -in Washington D.C.

“I”m sure whoever wins the Olympics is going to be full of confidence and going to be on cloud nine going into the U.S. Open,” Hewitt said. “Whoever does well there, or gets a medal at least, they”re going to be riding a wave, I guess, going into it.”

The choice was simple for Hewitt who is drastically affected by lots of traveling. The former No. 1 player has suffered through viruses and infections from a result of jet-lag.

Others are prepared for the effects of flying.

“I have a week in between Cincinnati and the Olympics and a week between the Olympics and the U.S. Open. Even though I will go through a couple of jet-lags, I”m used to that and I get over it,” Federer said. “But it is important just that I have days where I”m not playing at all and just really relax.”

Federer got a few more days to relax than he had expected last week. After losing in the first round of the Cincinnati Masters last Tuesday, he headed to Switzerland. He will most likely head to Athens, Greece Wednesday.

Roddick said the American team was planning on leaving today.

When asked about the tight fit in his schedule, Roddick said, “It is, but you know, it’s the Olympics.”

As far as the Olympics, tacking more on to the already long tennis season, some don’t consider it a problem.

“I think the tennis calender, the schedule is too long full stop. I think people have been saying that for a long, long time,” No. 7 Tim Henman said. “But, the Olympics comes around every four years, as we all know. I think the vast majority of us want to take the opportunity of participating in it. So the Olympics goes when it’s the Olympics, and everything else works around it.”