The Tokyo 2020 Olympics tennis competition was making headlines for withdrawals by top guns. Still there is no shortage of top stars as the entries were announced today (Wednesday). Two-time champion Andy Murray, tennis legend Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic will be gunning for top honours in the Japanese Capital.
Four-time grand slam winner Naomi Osaka will be out to enthrall the home crowd. The women’s field also includes Australia’s world number one Ash Barty.
The ITF has announced a start-studded field for the Games, scheduled to start on July 23.
Andy Murray will be up against his old Olympic foe in Roger Federer, who will be taking a shot at what you can say his last Olympics glory. The Swiss tennis icon had won gold in the doubles at Beijing 2008, and silver in the singles at the London 2012, going down to Murray in the final.
Federer was forced out of the Rio 2016 by an injury. Murray, meanwhile, will be eyeing a golden hat-trick after having signed off as the champion at the London and the Rio Games.
Both also have the little obstacle of Serbia’s Novak Djokovic to contend with, a wounded Olympic soul after a first round exit to Argentine Juan Martin del Potro at Rio 2016.
The young guns of Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas, who have also been picked for their respective countries of Germany and Greece, will also likely have a say in the matter.
Dan Evans will join Murray in the singles competition for Great Britain, making his debut at an Olympic Games. Murray and Evans will also play in the men’s doubles pairing up with Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski, respectively.
In the women’s competition, Britain’s Jo Konta and Heather Watson will both play singles and also repeat their Rio 2016 pairing in the women’s doubles, although they will hope to go further than the second round this time. Konta made the quarter-finals in Brazil in the singles but was knocked out in the first round of the mixed doubles. Konta will be keen to get back out there after missing Wimbledon due to having to self isolate after close contact with someone with COVID-19.
Two-time Olympian Watson, meanwhile, made it through to the quarter-finals in the mixed doubles in Rio and to the second round in singles in London.
