Olympic tennis will begin late on Friday night in the United States and wrap up with the final gold medal matches starting on July 31. The Olympics offer a reprieve from the traditional ATP/WTA tour schedule and offer a different dynamic for players. Players will represent their countries with no prize money or “FedEx Race to Turin” points. There may be big names will not be competing in Tokyo this week, but there are plenty of storylines and intrigue following the action this summer.
Who is Missing Out?
The two biggest names in the sport will not be in attendance after Serena and Venus Williams announced their withdrawals. Serena suffered an injury in her first round Wimbledon match and Venus did not qualify via ranking. Simona Halep will also miss out on the women’s side as she is still recovering from a calf injury. On the men’s side, Rafael Nadal opted out of both Wimbledon and the Olympics after a hard clay-court season. Roger Federer announced he will miss the Olympics, citing a recurring knee injury, and plans to be a part of the hard-court swing this summer. Nick Kyrgios, Dominic Thiem, and Wimbledon semi-finalists Denis Shapovalov will all miss this year’s games. With a lot of stars missing, this is the year for an underdog to make a run.
Youth Surge
The uniqueness and unpredictability of sports this year has certainly affected tennis and will affect the Olympics. There are quite a few young guns who could make a run for medals this summer. Coco Gauff is an American aged 17 years-old who made a last-dash effort to qualify for Tokyo. The world No. 25 recently announced that she tested positive for COVID-19 and withdrew from the Olympics. It is a huge blow for the American in good form and will look to bounce back this summer. Another young player is Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime who is coming off his first major quarter-final appearance at Wimbledon. He is ranked No. 15 in the world and is the youngest man in the ATP top 20. Expect these two young athletes to make a deep run at the games for their countries.
First-Round Delights
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic will kick-off his Olympic campaign against Bolivian Hugo Dellien at Ariake Tennis Park on Saturday. The first real test for Djokovic could come in the next round against Italian Lorenzo Musetti. The Serbian fought back from two-sets-to-love down at the French Open against Musetti earlier this year. World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev makes his Olympic debut against Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan. Another Russian, Andrey Rublev, takes on Rio bronze medallist Kei Nishikori, while 3rd seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas takes on Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber.
Elsewhere, Great Britain’s Andy Murray looks to win a third straight Olympic singles gold medal and starts his title defense against the previously mentioned Felix Auger-Aliassime. American Tommy Paul meets 11th seed Aslan Karatsev in the first round and Wimbledon semi-finalists Hubert Hurkacz meets Martin Fucsovics of Hungary.
TGH’s Predictions
It is a challenge to predict how any tournament will play out on the ATP tour and the Olympics are no different. Injuries, COVID-19, and coaching could all play a factor in Tokyo this week. Here are TGH predictions for the semi-finals and finals for the men’s and women’s singles.
Men Semi-Final #1: Novak Djokovic (SRB) v. Aslan Karatsev (ROC)
Men Semi-Final #2: Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) v. Daniil Medvedev (ROC)
Men’s Final: Novak Djokovic (SRB) v. Daniil Medvedev (ROC)
Men’s Gold: Novak Djokoivc (SRB)
Men’s Silver: Daniil Medvedev (ROC)
Men’s Bronze: Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE)
Women Semi-Final #1: Ashleigh Barty (AUS) v. Aryna Sabalenka (BLR)
Women Semi-Final #2: Maria Sakkari (GRE) v. Naomi Osaka (JPN)
Women’s Final: Ashleigh Barty (AUS) v. Naomi Osaka (JPN)
Women’s Gold: Naomi Osaka (JPN)
Women’s Silver: Ashleigh Barty (AUS)
Women’s Bronze: Aryna Sabalenka (BLR)