By Jakub Bobro and Adam Addicott
The draw has taken place for the Olympic singles tournament in Rio de Janeiro. A total of 128 players (64 men and 64 women) will battle it out for just six medals at the newly built Olympic Tennis Centre. This year could see the record books be rewritten as Serena Williams aims to become the most decorated tennis player in Olympic history and Andy Murray bids to be the first man to successfully defend an Olympic title.
Men’s Singles
The match that will attract all eyes on tennis in Rio will be the 1st Round encounter between World No. 1 Novak Djokovic and 2012 Bronze medallist Juan Martin Del Potro. The match will have a special ring to it, as Del Potro defeated Djokovic in a Bronze Medal match in London 2012, stopping him from reaching a medal at the Olympics. Can the Argentine cause another big upset and do the same in Rio? Probably not, but it’s still a less than ideal opponent to start the Olympics against, and all the pressure will be all on Djokovic.
If Djokovic does get past this first hurdle, it should all be straightforward from there, until the medal matches. In the second round, the Serb will face a softer opponent in Joao Sousa or Robin Haase, neither of which will have a real chance to upset Djokovic. 14th seed Jack Sock should be Djokovic’s first seeded opponent, despite being 25th in the rankings. The first real test after Del Potro will be the 5th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. In case the French player falls on his way to the quarterfinals, other possible opponents include 10th seed Roberto Bautista Agut, Gilles Muller, or even the returning Jerzy Janowicz. Djokovic’s last opponent on the way to the final should be 3rd seed Rafael Nadal.
World No. 5 Rafael Nadal is definitely the draw winner among the top seeds, and he needs it. The Spaniard hasn’t played since Roland Garros, and there are a lot of question marks surrounding Nadal’s fitness. Despite that, Nadal will play all 3 events. In singles, Federico Delbonis will start him off. In the second round, Nadal will be faced with a declining Andreas Seppi or Illya Marchenko. He should again have no problems there. The nine-time French Open champion won’t have too much trouble in the 3rd round either, his possible opponents being a slumping Gilles Simon or Borna Coric. Nadal’s quarterfinal opponent will most probably be 8th seed David Goffin or 11th seed Pablo Cuevas, where he again will be a huge favourite. Rio gives the 30-year-old get a chance to play himself into form to give Djokovic a run for his money.
Second seed and defending champion Andy Murray will anchor the bottom half, and on paper has a very tough draw. However, with a closer look, Murray shouldn’t have too much trouble reaching the finals. His opener against Serbia’s Viktor Troicki looks tough on paper, but Murray has a winning 7-0 head-to-head against Troicki, and the Serb hasn’t won since Wimbledon. In the second round it will be either No. 145 Mirza Basic or former Top 10 player Juan Monaco. At this point in his career, Monaco can do little to none damage on hard courts, so it should be smooth sailing for Murray. In Round of 16, he will face one of Benoit Paire, Lukas Rosol or Fabio Fognini. All are, on paper, tough opponents, but are far from their best forms. Murray’s quarterfinal opponent will come from the weakest part of the draw, anchored by No. 12 David Ferrer and No. 22 Steve Johnson. The unseeded players are also not too threatening, strongest of which are Thanasi Kokkinakis and Jan-Lennard Struff. Murray’s semifinal opponent will be one of the trio, Nishikori, Monfils and Cilic. All those players have a shot, especially Monfils who is in great form.
Check out the #Rio2016 #tennis draw ! pic.twitter.com/VaEJ30ljVQ
— GrandSlamTennisTours (@MyTennisTicket) 4 August 2016
Women’s singles
The Women’s draw will be headlined by four-time Olympic gold medallist Serena Williams. This year the world No.1 is bidding to win two medals at the games and become the most decorated tennis player in Olympic history. She will start her singles campaign against Australia’s Daria Gavrilova, a player who she has defeated once in straight sets at the 2013 Doha Open. Beyond the first round, Williams could play Alize Cornet in the second round followed by 15th seed Elina Svitolina. In the last eight, the top seed should expect to play either Petra Kvitova or Roberta Vinci. Williams’ potential route is all but certain with a series of dangerous floaters in her section. Unseeded players Heather Watson, Caroline Wozniacki and Ekaterina Makarova all have the ability to cause upsets and set up a showdown with the American. Regardless of the outside threats, it was be a huge surprise if any of these players are able to stop the world No.1 from going deep in the draw. Another medal is extremely likely for Williams, but the question is what one?
Joining Williams in the top half is French Open champion Garbine Muguruza, who will experience a tough opening match against Jelena Jankovic. The Spaniard has lost to Jankovic in their three previous meetings on a hard-court, including one this year in the Fed Cup. Her sole win over the Serbian occurred three years ago in Roland Garros. If Muguruza moves past the first round, she will play either Japan’s Nao Hibino or Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu. Further on in the tournament, the Spaniard could face Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova followed by 5th seed Venus Williams. The luck of the draw is not on Muguruza’s side with a series of dangerous opponents standing in her way. She will need to be at the top of her game if she wants to avoid a similar fate to her early exit at the Wimbledon Championships.
Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber heads the bottom half. The German will start her medal bid against Colombia’s Mariana Duque in what will be their first meeting for six years. After what is expected to be a straightforward opening match, Kerber will play Eugenie Bouchard or Sloane Stephens in the second round. The clash between Bouchard and Stephens has the chance to be one of the highlights of the first round. Beyond the first two rounds, Kerber could play Sam Stosur followed by a potential quarter-final clash with Johanna Konta or Svetlana Kuznetsova. The outcome of Kerber’s route is one that is the hardest to predict. Konta, Kuznetsova and Bouchard all have the ability to grab a shock win, however, it is their consistency that is brought into question. If Kerber wants to be the first German medallist in tennis since 2004, she will need to display her best game from the onset.
Agnieszka Radwanska has been handed an interesting route to the last eight. Starting against Saisai Zheng, a player who lost in the first round in five out of her last six tournaments, the fourth seed could be pushed to her limits in the second round if she meets Daria Kasatkina. This Russian is currently at a ranking high of 27th and has defeated two top 10 players this year (Venus Williams and Roberta Vinci). Kasatkina will start against Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur. Later on in the tournament, Radwanska could play Barbora Strýcová followed by Canadian Open runner-up Madison Keys. Carla Suarez Navarro also features in Radwanska’s section and will play Ana Ivanovic in the first round. Radwanska is known for her outstanding defensive play that has brought her back from the brink of losing in numerous matches this year. If anybody is up for a challenge, it is the 27-year-old Polish player.
Rio ladies singles whole draw 🏅🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/jtxZpYkbeq
— We Are Tennis (@WeAreTennis) 4 August 2016
