Olympic schedule - Wimbledon 2012

Here is the full schedule and prices for the Olympics to be held at Wimbledon during the Summer of 2012.

Dates & Prices

Rafael Nadal - Aiming for repeat of Olympic Gold

Courtesy: Sportal

Spanish tennis ace Rafael Nadal said he has every intention of defending his Olympic men's singles title at the 2012 London Games.

The 24-year-old defeated Chile's Fernando Gonzalez to claim gold at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and has taken his game to another level in the years since.

Nadal assumed Roger Federer's world number one ranking and claimed three Grand Slam titles in a career-best 2010 season.

Speaking after he was named sportsman of the year at the Laureus Sports Awards in Abu Dhabi on Monday, Nadal modestly said he hoped to still be in good enough form to qualify for the next Olympics.

"Everyone wants to play (in the) Olympics. I am not an exception," Nadal said.

"For sure, I hope to be ready to be in London. To play in London you have to qualify, because you have to be in the top three or top four in your country."

"You know the Spanish tennis players' level is very high. If I am not playing my best tennis or I am not healthy and not 100 percent prepared, I don't know if I will qualify for London, but my goal, for sure, is to be there."

"I love the Olympics. I enjoyed the Olympics very much in 2008 in Beijing. Not because I won - for sure, that's something extra - but I loved the spirit of the Olympic Games and being in the (Olympic) village with the rest of the sportsmen and sportswomen of the world."

"That's an unbelievable experience. I enjoyed it a lot and I would love to relive the experience."

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

Olympic Rafa

Thanks again to Sofie @ Rafaholics for bringing this to my attention.

We all know what Spain means to Rafa and for him winning the Olympic Gold Medal was as good as winning a Slam.

Check out the videos and photos below of Rafa's path to Olympic Gold.

Rafa's Page - Olympic.org

Photos 

Video from the final - olympic.org

Video from the semi-final:



Courtesy: swissmaestro45

Medal ceremony video - Cristisevillana

Colourful Wimbledon

Wimbledon is brightening its wardrobe for the 2012 Olympics.

Organizers of the venerable tournament said Friday the traditional all-white dress rule will be waived for the tennis competition at the London Games.

Players must wear predominantly white clothing during the Grand Slam event. But that will change for the Olympics, and All England Club chief executive Ian Ritchie said Wimbledon had no hesitation in loosening its rules.

"We have been very supportive to the Olympic organizers throughout the process," he said. "We hope to some extent there will be a different type of audience. It is not a repeat of the Championships. It will be its own competition, have its own style and it will play out in its own way."

Among other changes, the Royal Box on Centre Court will be filled with the International Olympic Committee "family," instead of the assorted royalty and dignitaries who congregate there during Wimbledon.

Only 12 of the available 17 courts will be required, meaning crowd capacity will be 26,000, down from 40,000 during the championships.

One tradition, however, will remain: no scheduled night sessions. Play will begin at 11 a.m. local time, and is expected to continue until about 8 p.m. As is the case during Wimbledon, play could carry on under the roof on Centre Court if circumstances demand.

The Olympic tennis event is set to begin July 28, 2012 -- 20 days after the end of the Grand Slam tournament.
The All England Club last week made assurances that the grass courts would be resurfaced in time following a successful test this year.

Debbie Jevans, London 2012 director of sport and venues, said Friday that organizers were confident there still would be an appetite for tennis at Wimbledon such a short time later.

"There will be a lot of people who do not get tickets for the Championships," she said. "It gives them the chance to see the best players in the world."

The 2012 Olympic tennis event will be the first to include mixed doubles, meaning there will be five gold medals up for grabs at Wimbledon.

The singles events will be played over three sets, except for the men's final, which will be best-of-five.
Spain's Rafael Nadal won the gold medal in men's singles in Beijing four years ago. Roger Federer teamed with Stanislas Wawrinka to win the men's doubles for Switzerland.

Among the women, Elena Dementieva of Russia won the singles, and American sisters Venus and Serena Williams captured the doubles.

Tickets for the 2012 Olympic tournament go on sale next year.

Courtesy: ESPN