Tennis deserves Olympic slot

Olympic tennis will finally get the publicity it deserves at the London Games in 2012, according to Swiss ace Roger Federer.

That is because the unheralded event will be held at Wimbledon, the iconic site of the oldest and most prestigious tennis tournament in the world.

Tennis was re-introduced to the Olympics at the 1988 Games in Seoul, but does not receive anywhere near the recognition of sports such as athletics and swimming.

But Federer, who has fallen short of adding a singles gold medal to his achievements on three occasions, said he expects that to change when the Olympics arrive in London.

"The beauty of it being at Wimbledon is huge for the world of tennis," Federer said.

"At the Olympics, the focus is on swimming and athletics and tennis has been forgotten a little bit."

"At the last couple of Olympics, we've seen the best players are always playing. Rafa (Nadal) winning the singles in Beijing, me winning the doubles over there, that was great news for tennis in an Olympic spirit."

"In London, with the heritage we have for tennis through Wimbledon, it's probably going to be the biggest tennis Olympics we're going to have."

Federer added: "It being in London will help the cause."

"We don't have to travel an extra thousands of miles to get to the venue as we travel enough. Before, you had some guys who did not like playing on grass at all so they would just skip it."

"But now it's different. Everybody today plays on grass. For raising awareness for tennis at the Olympic Games, I think London is going to be the perfect place."

Courtesy: Sportal