With the third Grand Slam of the year now behind us, fans will see mammoth tennis action unfold at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro this August. Although a handful of players have withdrawn over fears of the Zika Virus, and a resurgent Victoria Azarenka has withdrawn from the Olympics after announcing her pregnancy, a number of the biggest players put their immense talent on display at Wimbledon.
A number of performances across the board have shown evidence that this year will see some strong tennis on display from all quarters.
Here’s a look into some Rio 2016 takeaways from the Championships this year:
Switzerland are powerful, but not unbeatable
Yes, they have some of the world’s consistently best players. The side features two former World No. 1s – Roger Federer and Martina Hingis – both of whom have still displayed form in recent times.
Yet, despite this, doubles No. 1 Martina Hingis crashed out in the third round of Wimbledon with partner Sania Mirza; the pair were defending champions at SW19.
Federer managed a semi-finals finish this time around at a tournament he has won seven titles at in the past. In the absence of defending champion Novak Djokovic, who won both the Australian and French Open titles this year, the Swiss was pegged to be a serious contender for the title.
Ousted in the semi-finals by the powerful serves of Milos Raonic, Federer lost out on a close opportunity for the title, but has shown that he is in mammoth form ahead of Rio and despite having struggled with injury early in the year, could make his mark in the Olympics yet again.
He already has singles silver – at London 2012 – and doubles gold – at Beijing 2008 with partner Stan Wawrinka, who will also be playing with Federer this year.
Although Wawrinka continues to hold his place in tennis’ top 10, the Swiss has not had much luck recently, crashing out to Juan Martin del Potro at the second round of Wimbledon. Most of the team are ranked in the top 10 in their disciplines, with the talented Timea Baczinsky and Belinda Bencic also on the squad.
Doubles World No. 1 Martina Hingis will be a fixture on the squad too, but the 1997 Wimbledon singles champion has seen a bit of a title lull in recent months with partner and Indian Olympian Sania Mirza.
Although they are the best side at the Olympics on paper, given the recent form of the players, it might not be as difficult to beat them as previously thought.
Andy Murray could reign again
Always close on the heels of Grand Slam titles, the Scot had only two from his eight finals until Wimbledon this year. Having made the finals of both prior Grand Slams – the Australian Open and then the French Open, and losing each time to Novak Djokovic, Murray nevertheless did not get disheartened.
With Czech former World No. 1 Ivan Lendl returning to Murray's side this year after the Scot parted ways with Amelie Mauresmo, Murray appears to have found renewed vigour. One of the top contenders for the title regardless, a merciless Murray quickly became the tournament favourite after Novak Djokovic crashed out of the tournament in the third round with a shock upset at the hands of the USA’s Sam Querrey.
Barring a laborious five-set win over France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarter-finals, Murray took convincing wins over each of his opponents – dispatching semi-finalist and top-10 player Tomas Berdych in straight sets before lifting his third Grand Slam title – and his second at Wimbledon
Only last December, Murray took the English Davis Cup side to their first win in nearly eight decades; given his form and the fact that he is perhaps the only player who has not had injury struggles this season, the World No. 2 looks in fine form for Olympic glory this year to defend his gold medal in the men’s tennis singles, having pipped Roger Federer to top prize at London 2012.
India could pull off doubles magic
Although the country has had a drought in the singles, India’s doubles talent has been ruling the roost in recent years. 2015 saw Sania Mirza ascend to the top of the women’s doubles rankings with partner Martina Hingis, with 17-time Grand Slam winner Leander Paes also in form.
Paes, like Mirza, has partnered Martina Hingis to Grand Slam glory on multiple occasions over the past year. The 43-year-old almost did not make the squad, however.
Rohan Bopanna, courtesy his then-top 10 ranking in the ATP men’s doubles list, received a free pass to Rio 2016 – and with it the freedom to pick his partner; 38-year-old Bopanna had picked top Indian singles player Saketh Myneni, with AITA eventually overruling the decision in favour of Paes.
The two recently partnered one another to victory at their Davis Cup rubber in Chandigarh, so despite their personal differences, the two sporting professionals are able to partner each other effectively.
Sania Mirza’s doubles partner this year will be 22-year-old Prarthana Thombare, who has partnered Mirza to a bronze medal win at the 2014 Asian Games. With a pre-existing team chemistry for that pair, India can hope for strong performances in men's, women’s and mixed doubles.
Serena and Venus will defend their titles
It is likely that spectators will see a number of strong women’s doubles teams at the Olympics, many of which have not been seen on the WTA circuit, with many compatriots not choosing to perform as a team. Despite this, it looks likely that both Venus and Serena Williams will defend their titles, with both sisters returning to rule the roost.
Serena Williams, like Andy Murray, had been in the finals of each of the past three Grand Slams, but missed out on titles each time.
Although Murray lost each time to World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, Williams was upset on both occasions by surprise contenders. The younger Williams sister came back with a vengeance this time around, dropping only a single set en route to her title win at Wimbledon – her seventh at the venue and 22nd overall, tying Steffi Graf for the all-time highest number of Grand Slam titles.
Older sister Venus, also a former World No. 1, was the oldest player in the entire Wimbledon 2016 draw at 36-years-old, and given that the American ace has had her struggles with injury and is combating an autoimmune disorder, not many may have expected her to perform at Wimbledon.
Venus managed to make the semi-finals of the singles this year, losing to eventual runner-up and 2016 Australian Open winner Angelique Kerber.
She and younger sister Serena had a convincing route to the women’s doubles finals as well, and eventually ended Wimbledon with the women’s doubles title; given they won gold in both categories at London 2012 and have been in blazing form in the past year, it seems likely the sisters will be able to pull off a repeat performance in Rio.
Great Britain are a force to contend with
They broke a long-standing Davis Cup dry spell last December, and England’s tennis players have been in fine form in 2016. With Andy Murray excelling at the singles, brother Jamie has been no slouch at the doubles either.
Older brother Jamie and English partner Dominic Inglot have excelled at their recent Davis Cup tie, and this time, with both Murray brotehrs in fine nick, the constant doubles partners at the Olympics will team up yet again. Jamie has two Grand Slam titles himself, one each in the men’s and mixed doubles.
Both Murray brothers have Wimbledon titles – and now, so does another member of team GB. Heather Watson took her debut Grand Slam title in the mixed doubles at the venue last week with partner Henri Kontinen, and partnered by either Inglot or the older Murray – both of whom are proficient doubles players, the side could pull off wins across categories this year.
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