5 signs about Rio Olympics that we learned from the 2016 Wimbledon Championships
With the third Grand Slam of the year now behind us, fans will see mammoth tennis action unfold at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro this August. Although a handful of players have withdrawn over fears of the Zika Virus, and a resurgent Victoria Azarenka has withdrawn from the Olympics after announcing her pregnancy, a number of the biggest players put their immense talent on display at Wimbledon.
A number of performances across the board have shown evidence that this year will see some strong tennis on display from all quarters.
Here’s a look into some Rio 2016 takeaways from the Championships this year:
Switzerland are powerful, but not unbeatable
Yes, they have some of the world’s consistently best players. The side features two former World No. 1s – Roger Federer and Martina Hingis – both of whom have still displayed form in recent times.
Yet, despite this, doubles No. 1 Martina Hingis crashed out in the third round of Wimbledon with partner Sania Mirza; the pair were defending champions at SW19.
Federer managed a semi-finals finish this time around at a tournament he has won seven titles at in the past. In the absence of defending champion Novak Djokovic, who won both the Australian and French Open titles this year, the Swiss was pegged to be a serious contender for the title.
Ousted in the semi-finals by the powerful serves of Milos Raonic, Federer lost out on a close opportunity for the title, but has shown that he is in mammoth form ahead of Rio and despite having struggled with injury early in the year, could make his mark in the Olympics yet again.
He already has singles silver – at London 2012 – and doubles gold – at Beijing 2008 with partner Stan Wawrinka, who will also be playing with Federer this year.
Although Wawrinka continues to hold his place in tennis’ top 10, the Swiss has not had much luck recently, crashing out to Juan Martin del Potro at the second round of Wimbledon. Most of the team are ranked in the top 10 in their disciplines, with the talented Timea Baczinsky and Belinda Bencic also on the squad.
Doubles World No. 1 Martina Hingis will be a fixture on the squad too, but the 1997 Wimbledon singles champion has seen a bit of a title lull in recent months with partner and Indian Olympian Sania Mirza.
Although they are the best side at the Olympics on paper, given the recent form of the players, it might not be as difficult to beat them as previously thought.