Tennis and the Olympics

[Donny]

Why Lleyton has done us favour

Opinion by Ray Chesterton - Fox Sports

IT has always been obscenely fraudulent to impose tennis upon the public as a genuine, widely-accepted event of Olympic merit.

It is, like soccer at the Olympics, just a mediocre deception created to artificially generate revenue.

Tennis is a sport built upon traditions, myths and emotions that are older than even the modern Olympics.

The four pillars of world tennis are the French, Wimbledon, Australian and US opens.

Anything else, no matter how much money or how many trinkets are involved, counts for little, except fattening bank accounts.

The four Opens constituting the grand slam characterise tennis in the past, the present and the future.

Players' careers are measured in grand slam wins. Not gold medals.

We all know that whichever of Lleyton Hewitt's social shortcomings has made us cringe in the past, no one quibbles about his devotion to tennis and representing Australia, especially in the Davis Cup.

So for him to publicly say he is unavailable for the Olympics because it might interfere with his preparation for the US Open is a welcome and honest reaction to the duplicity the IOC has been perpetrating for more than a decade.

Congratulations Lleyton. You have done us a favour with your forthrightness.

Olympic tennis is a pleasant pastime but only if there there are no grand slams to play. We saw that at the 1996 Olympics when the tennis was again scheduled too close to the US Open and key players dropped out. Now we're seeing it again.

Tennis is not an Olympic sport. Nor is golf, a sport frequently talked about as being introduced at some stage. Nor is soccer, which discriminates and blurs the edges of the competitive boundary lines quite shamelessly, or even baseball for that matter.

There are sports in the world anchored so firmly in tradition and fable that they might as well be pinned in steel and concrete.

Tennis's grand slam, is one of them. Soccer's World Cup is another. They regard the Olympics as secondary.

Similarly there are sports so emotionally and historically linked to the Olympics that no man-made competition like a world championship can ever erode their support.

Athletics is one. So is swimming.

Athletics and swimming have their own world championships but neither carries the cachet of an Olympic medal.

But the IOC continues to try and brainwash the public into believing tennis is part of its grand plan.

The Olympics can offer tennis no prestige that it does not already have.

As grandiose as they may be and as much of an amazing theatre they present, the Olympics are undermining their own achievements.

Soccer at the Olympics is a joke. Countries field under-23 sides that can be boosted by the inclusion of three over-age players, who are usually international stars.

But soccer sells tickets.

And, as always, the IOC is about making money. It sees the massive money tennis, soccer and perhaps golf can generate and they greedily want a share of it.

Even if it gives the Olympics a tawdriness and sense of avarice that is sickening.

[Donny]

Scud targets Athens

By Leo Schlink and John Thirsk - Fox Sports

MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS will not follow Lleyton Hewitt's lead in missing next year's Olympics, revealing Athens success is his 2004 priority.

Of Greek-Italian heritage, Philippoussis was Australia's best-performed male at the Sydney Games, where he out-stripped Pat Rafter, Hewitt and Andrew Ilie.

But the Wimbledon and US Open finalist is hoping to improve on his third-round loss at Homebush to eventual gold medallist Yevgeny Kafelnikov.

"Mark has set himself for the Athens Olympics," his manager Brian Cooney said yesterday.

"It's his main goal for 2004."

Hewitt will bypass the Games, citing scheduling concerns, with only a short break separating the Olympic final and the start of the US Open in New York.

Similar programming in 1996 saw many of the world's premier players opt out of the Atlanta Games because they were held immediately before the US Open.

But Philippoussis, who has a tattoo of Alexander The Great on his right shoulder and speaks Greek with his father Nick during practice sessions, is eager to perform well in Athens.

The Victorian's Davis Cup teammate Todd Woodbridge also intends to play in Greece, if selected.

The chance of becoming the first man in more than 80 years to compete in four Olympic Games in tennis is the major factor behind his stance.

"I'm committed to playing at least another 14 months because I want to play the Olympics," said Woodbridge, 32, effectively scuttling talk of imminent retirement.

"My aim is to be a four-time Olympian, not many tennis players have done that. I'd be very proud to have achieved that."

Woodbridge, responsible for a display of doubles genius in the Davis Cup final, has won 78 doubles titles to share the record with Dutchman Tom Okker.

Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde won Australia's only tennis gold medal in the doubles at Atlanta.

Australia's singles and doubles teams -- for men and women -- will become clearer in June when the rankings cut-off is determined.

IF Olympic tennis finished in the first week of the sporting extravaganza more top players would compete, former Davis Cup star John Alexander believes.

The early finish would allow players a week to recover before the final grand slam event of the year, the US Open.

The tight scheduling saw Lleyton Hewitt withdraw from the Athens Games and he is likely to be followed by a host of other players.

Alexander said it's not the timing of the Olympics, but the scheduling of tennis within the Games' 16 days.

"I think it would be better to have tennis in the first week of the Olympic program," he said.

"That would give players a week's space to get ready for the final grand slam (US Open).

"You can't expect tennis to have any impact on the timing of an Olympics."

[Sultan of spin]

I think it is embarasing to the olympics that they have a sport which means very little to the players. An olympic gold medal is meant to be the premier achievement in all olympic sports, in the case of tennis it is clearly not so it should be removed from the program.

[Donny]

Yes, I agree. This is also true of other such highly professional sports like Soccer, Baseball, Basketball and Golf.

When players can so easily find something more important to do - and Camaroon wins the Olympic gold medal for Soccer - I think this whole area needs a rethink.

[commonwombat]

Interesting folks,

IMHO, baseball is a total imposter in the Olympics. The Yanks pushed hard and long for it to be included and when they do, they don't pay it any respect sending second stringers or college kids.

Much of the probs go back to the old days when Olympics were supposedly amateur, farcical as it was. Soccer has been in basically from the start but by WW2, much of Europes top soccer was professional. To add to it FIFA has been loath to brook any challenge to its World Cup.

It was in the doldrums by 1980 but has risen in stature. It now seems to serve a sound purpose as a developer for the World Cup with u/23 teams with Olympic sides frequently resembling upcoming WC sides. Womens comp is another W Cup.

Basketball is fair dinkum enough especially after regulations were changed basically after the Yanks has their tails whacked in 88. No longer could they arrogantly send college teams. With the US NBA becoming less of a closed shop, the game has grown.

The Olympics IS the peak of basketball for both sexes and if the Yanks ever try to get arrogant again, they will cop the same embarassing lesson.

Golf is a realistic no-go. Tennis is a quandry. The Olympics is not regarded on the same level as the Grand Slam although many look forward to competing. Problems do arise over scheduling, commercial considerations and players egos. Bar the first, most problems can be overcome if people want them to be.

It's stature in the tennis is however not at the pinnacle where many people would want it to be. Future ????

[Sultan of spin]

I agree with MagFan re soccer, baseball and golf. Basketball is an interesting one, I think the womens basketball at the olympics is good and quite competitive but the mens is a bit of a joke with the yanks belting everyone. I think a championship ring would be worth more to an NBA player than an olympic medal so I would place a ? over mens basketball.

[Joe]

Obviously his own personal glory and career is more important to him than representing his country in the olympics.
You cannot blame the boy as the notion of country and honor hold different values to different people.
Good on ya Lleyton and well done for his improved self control on the court.
the biggest problem this boy has is having two l's in his name.