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January 11, 2008
Federer motivated for Beijing as well as Paris
By Santosh Venkataraman, Associated Press
As the tennis calendar shifts into the new year, there's no doubt what Roger Federer's main goal is: winning his first French Open.
But in 2008, there's another carrot awaiting him as well. Winning the singles title at the Beijing Olympics in August, which would end just over a week before he begins his quest for a fifth straight U.S. Open title.
"Comes around every four years and you tend to get a bit nervous when that comes around," Federer said. "It depends on the draw. It depends on the player you play, the day form and everything, so it's a tough thing."
Make no mistake about it, while Federer has his eyes set on finally breaking through on the famed red clay at Roland Garros, he's at least made the final there in two straight years. Federer may own 12 Grand Slam titles, but he doesn't even have an Olympic medal.
Federer came close in 2000 in Sydney, before he ever won a Slam, but fell to Germany's Tommy Haas in the semifinals and France's Arnaud di Pasquale in the bronze-medal match. Four years later in Athens, in a season in which he would win every Slam but the French, Federer was upset by Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic in the second round.
"I think it is important to him, I think he wants to win it," said Pete Sampras, the man whose record 14 Grand Slam titles could be broken by Federer in 2008. "In Athens he lost early, I think that was disappointing. It's a goal for him."
In a sport where success is defined individually, there are few chances of winning for reasons other than personal glory. The Davis Cup is the most notable competition where players compete for their countries.
And it's the Davis Cup which provides the greatest clue of how much representing his country means to Federer. Although Switzerland has never had a team that could realistically compete for the title, Federer has played for it on numerous occasions, including playoff ties each of the last three years in attempts to keep the Swiss in the world group.
In all three of those draws, Federer has also played doubles and even did so in the Athens Games, losing in the second round with unheralded Yves Allegro as a partner.
"The Beijing Olympics will be fantastic to go there," Federer said. "I enjoyed Athens, I enjoyed Sydney really a lot, it's one of those memories to me as an athlete I'll cherish."
As modest and humble as he may be, there is little doubt that Federer realizes his place in history. This was evident by his exhibition tour in Asia in November with Sampras.
Much was made of how Sampras won the finale of the three-match tour, a 7-6 (8), 6-4 victory in Macau in which Federer seemed grateful to lose because Sampras is his self-described idol. What's just as notable is the unorthodox step of playing the tour in the first place.
Federer had just won the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai after difficult losses to David Nalbandian in Paris and Madrid in Masters Series events. It seemed like the perfect time to kick back.
Instead, after a grueling stretch of tennis, he scheduled the tour with Sampras. It was competitive, but more importantly, it was great PR for a sport that hasn't generated too much positive attention this year with match-fixing scandals cropping up and wild accusations being flung about.
"I really hope I can give tennis a lift, too, because, especially this year, has been a bit of a struggle at times," Federer said after winning the Masters Cup.
And the decision was also vintage Federer, reminiscent of his invitation to American unknown Jesse Levine to practice with him in Dubai this past July, in part because Levine was a left-hander like Rafael Nadal.
Could it be that Federer wanted to test himself against the attacking style of Sampras in an era where so many of his challengers try to outslug him from the baseline like Nadal?
"It's being able to serve and volley, hit half-volleys, low volleys and that's kind of the tricky part and it's something that I still do pretty well that he doesn't see at all today," Sampras said. "He was telling me in Macau that he doesn't have to face many passing shots, returning. It's just kind of getting the ball back in play and just running with these guys, and he's just a much better runner."
There's always been a question whether players have taken the Olympics seriously, favoring Grand Slam glory instead. Sampras himself took part just once, blowing a two-set lead in the third round in Barcelona to Andrei Cherkasov and never returning to the event, always citing one reason or another not to play.
While it didn't mean much to Sampras, Andre Agassi captured the gold on U.S. soil in Atlanta in 1996. It was a defining moment for Agassi, whose dad was an Olympic boxer for Iran in 1948.
The Olympics is a hole right now in Federer's resume, albeit not as big as the French Open.
"I think it's gotten maybe a bit more real in the Olympics," said Sampras, who also failed to conquer Roland Garros. "I think guys are taking it more seriously and I think he is."
The timing of the event will be difficult for all players since they will be forced to go to China in the middle of the North American hardcourt circuit before returning for the U.S. Open. If Federer fails to win the French, it may also mean the Olympics will serve as a warmup for his attempt at a record-breaking 15th Slam in Flushing.
That's not a scenario that Federer envisions. He's looking to win the "Golden Slam," to fill in all the blanks once and for all on a career that will go down for the ages.
"I really expect myself to do well," Federer said about Beijing. "It's one of my goals of the season. It's going to be a rough trip, you know, coming from the French Open to Wimbledon, over to North America and come back, but I'm ready for it."
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