Injured Sharapova out of Olympics World number three Maria Sharapova will miss the Beijing Olympics because of a shoulder injury. The problem caused the 21-year-old Russian to withdraw from this week's WTA Rogers Open in Montreal. She was in pain in her second-round 7-5 5-7 6-2 win over Poland's Marta Domachowska and an MRI scan revealed two small tears. "This is something that needs a lot of time to heal. It really hurts me to say I have to miss the Olympics," she said. "After Wednesday's match I knew there was something seriously wrong with my shoulder," added Sharapova on her official website. "After taking a few different exams and MRI's, the doctors found two small tears in the tendons of my shoulder. "There are so many mixed feelings because on Wednesday night they were almost positive there was something wrong with my nerve, which could have ultimately been much more serious. "But after Thursday morning's tests, for the first time in a while, they were able to give me a different answer and a different problem." Sharapova is also a doubt for the US Open, which starts on 25 August in New York. Story from BBC SPORT: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/sport2/hi/olympics/tennis/7536416.stm haiz:crying::crying::crying::crying:
Well, the glamorous Sharapova is still 21 y.o. so she may try again 4 years later in London... Meanwhile tennis World #1 Roger Federer will become SUI flag-bearer for second time at Beijing Olympics after Athens 2004, here's the info (taken from AP through Yahoo!News) : Federer to carry Switzerland’s flag 7 hours, 52 minutes ago BERN, Switzerland (AP)—Roger Federer will carry the Swiss flag at the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics. The top-ranked tennis player will celebrate his 27th birthday next Friday by being his country’s standard bearer for the second straight Olympics. “It’s wonderful that I can carry the flag for the Swiss delegation on my birthday,” Federer said in a statement released Friday on the Swiss Olympic Web site. Federer has struggled with his form this year, and was upset again on Thursday, losing to Ivo Karlovic in the third round of the Cincinnati Masters. He now risks losing his No. 1 ranking after 235 weeks to Rafael Nadal if the Spaniard wins the Cincinnati tournament. Nadal beat Federer in both the French Open and Wimbledon finals this year. Still, winning an Olympic gold medal could help salvage what has been a disappointing year for Federer, in which he has failed to add to his 12 Grand Slam singles titles. “I still have a score to settle with the Olympics and being handed this honor for a second time will give me extra motivation,” he said. Federer was the top seed at Athens four years ago but lost in the second round to Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic.
^^I didn't realize..^^ ..Federer was a "nervous Nellie", 4 yrs ago, in Athens...that's almost as bad as LinDan's upset..
tennis is also a sport in the OG08..so i think this thread shud remain at here because here is the BEIJING 2008 non-badminton events / discussion.. cheers.
Wow..Rafael Nadal already sucessfully replacing Roger Federer as World No 1 after his win to advance to the semi final today in the Cincinnati tournament as Federer defeat earlier in the second round.Congrats to Nadal and hope he continue perform well in the coming Olympic game.He is just amazing and he is just 22 years old.
