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This is my tennis blog, Lefty Advantage. Tennis is my biggest passion in life and I started this site to discuss the great game. I mainly follow the career of Roger Federer, but I truly love watching all tennis, whether it be the final of a Grand Slam
or a junior tournament on the other side of the world.

I have played tennis for 13 years. If you ever met me, I could talk your head off about all things tennis for hours on end if you would let me. Welcome, and enjoy the writing!

Friday, July 27, 2012

London Olympics Draw Analysis

Here we are, finally at the 2012 London Olympics!  This year, the tournament for the gold medal will be played on the sacred grass of Wimbledon, and Roger Federer, fresh off winning his 7th title at SW19, will be looking to capture his first gold medal.

With Rafael Nadal absent, David Ferrer and Juan Martin del Potro have improved chances of going far.  Djokovic and Murray were placed in the same half, which makes Federer's life easier as he'll only have to go through one of them potentially to grab gold.

Here is the draw:  http://www.london2012.com/tennis/event/men-singles/index.html

Federer's Quarter

Roger starts his campaign for gold against Alejandro Falla, the left-hander who so nearly took out the Swiss in the first round of Wimbledon two years ago.  That should be fairly straightforward.  After that, Fed faces one of two men he battled at Wimbledon - Mikhail Youzhny or Julien Benneteau.  Roger would surely prefer to play Youzhny as he is 2-0 on grass against him this year and he suffered that massive scare vs Benneteau in the 3rd round of Wimbledon.

In the 3rd round, Fernando Verdasco, Gilles Muller, and Denis Istomin are potential matches. After that, the quarters will see a likely match with John Isner or Janko Tipsarevic, and in the semis, a contest with Juan Martin del Potro or David Ferrer.

Djokovic's Quarter

The World #2 starts his run against Fabio Fognini.  In the 2nd round, he is likely to face Andy Roddick, which would be a tough match potentially with Andy's recent good form.  In the 3rd round, he could face Lleyton Hewitt, Jurgen Melzer, or Marin Cilic.  Cilic is the good pick there as he has been one of the hottest players on tour in the past month and a half.  In the quarters, a meeting with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga awaits, on paper at least.  In the semis, Andy Murray or Tomas Berdych will likely meet him, though neither is guaranteed to be there.


Murray's Quarter

Murray, as he did at Wimbledon, has a tough draw.  He opens the tournament against Stan Wawrinka, and the Swiss is certainly capable of the upset.  Should Andy get by that, he'll probably face Jarkko Nieminen, and in the 3rd round either Richard Gasquet or Marcos Baghdatis.  In the quarters, he may have to go through Tomas Berdych, but the Czech has his own concerns before that, potentially having to go through Nicolas Almagro in the 3rd round.

Ferrer's Quarter

Ferrer starts his tournament against Canadian Vasek Pospisil.  In the 2nd round, he will likely face Philipp Kohlschreiber who is a very good grass court player.  In the 3rd round odds are he'll face Kei Nishikori, but he could also meet Bernard Tomic or Radek Stepanek.  In the quarters, he will probably have to go through Juan Martin del Potro if he wants to have a shot at Federer in the semis.

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4 Players to Watch For:

Juan Monaco:  After cracking the top 10 for the first time ever, can he keep his hot streak up and make some waves in these Games?  A potential match with Tsonga comes in the 3rd round.

Philipp Kohlschreiber:  Ever dangerous on grass, he could rattle the draw if he manages to upset David Ferrer, and if he does that, he could get to the semis.

Milos Raonic:  The promising Canadian had a bad Wimbledon, but he'll be looking to bounce back at the Olympics, and a highly anticipated match with Tsonga awaits in the 2nd round.

Marin Cilic:  The Croat has been on a roll as of late, with a win in Queens, a 4th round appearance at Wimbledon, and another win in his native event, Umag.  He could cause damage because his confidence must be sky-high at the moment.  Novak Djokovic had better watch out.

It's shaping up to be an amazing Olympic tournament.  Coming off his huge Wimbledon win, Roger Federer looks as poised as ever to take his first singles gold medal, especially if he can produce the same magical tennis we saw at Wimbledon earlier in the month.  With the best-of-3 format, he will need to be sharp right from the start and can't afford many lapses, but the same goes for the other top guys, who have tougher draws than Federer does (Murray, Djokovic).

Enjoy watching the tennis everybody!

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