Same courts but a different mettle test

On Saturday,lawn tennis will be played in the Olympics for the first time since 1920. The games will be staged at the All England Club only three weeks after Wimbledon ended,which gave groundskeepers little time to repair damage to the courts.

They now look as pristine as ever,thanks to a reseeding plan formulated through two years of trial and error.

On the surface,the profile of Olympic tennis has achieved a new level. After a 64-year hiatus,tennis rejoined the Games in 1988 but has since struggled to generate a Grand Slamstyle buzz until now.

Even jaded professional athletes get excited about the chance to chase an Olympic medal on the sports grandest stage. Thats all Ive fought for this whole year,so I hope that I can play well, said Venus Williams,who made the U.S. team only after an early-season climb in the rankings. For me it will just be an honor to be here and try to capitalize on that moment.

Virtually all top players seem to feel the same way. Defending singles gold medalist Rafael Nadal pulled out last week because of recurrent knee trouble,but the mens field still includes Federer,Serb Novak Djokovic and Brit Andy Murray. Among the medal contenders on the womens side are Serena Williams,Maria Sharapova and top-ranked Victoria Azarenka of Belarus.

Its luck,really,for the tennis players in this era to actually experience such an Olympic Games, Federer said.

He and Swiss teammate Stanislas Wawrinka are back to defend the doubles title they won four years ago in Beijing. The Williams sisters will also try for another gold in doubles,which they won in 2000 and 2008. Serena has a third shot at a London medal in mixed doubles,which is back in the Olympics for the first time since 1924.

Wimbledon champions

Serena and Federer added to their Wimbledon trophy collection earlier this month. Williams then showed up at the champions dinner wearing a gold dress,as if her focus was already redirected toward the medal chase.

She and Federer play first-round matches on Saturday,and both seek their first singles medal. Federer is 0 for 3,although he takes some consolation from meeting his wife at the 2000 Games in Sydney.

Now 30,Federer hopes to play in the 2016 Games but acknowledged this could be his last shot. He bristled at the suggestion a gold in singles would plug the biggest hole in his resume.

I dont feel like this is a must-win for me or anything like that, said Federer,the winner of a record 17 Grand Slam titles.

I think if you start looking at it like that and really picking out stuff thats missing for you in your career,this is not the way to go after it. Especially when youve had so much success like me. Its going to be a great tournament. I want to enjoy it,you know,not just crumble under pressure and just talk about that if I dont win,how bad it will be. Thats not how I see it.