Olympian struggle for tennis as aces go for life of luxury

Restored for the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, tennis sits uneasily within the Olympian ideals, ravaged as it often is by the withdrawal of star players with "bigger" targets on their minds.

For most of the disciplines at the Games, Olympic gold is the pinnacle, the highest level of achievement in their sport.

However, despite protestations from Roger Federer, it is difficult to argue that winning gold in a three-set tournament means more than winning Wimbledon or one of the Grand Slams.

And the attitude of some top players, such as Federer, to opt for luxury over teambonding doesn't help.

"The conditions in the Olympic Village are certainly not up to the standard of the fivestar hotels players are used to," sniffed Russia's Davis Cup captain Shamil Tarpischev last week when both Maria Sharapova - who later dropped out - and Elena Dementieva chose to stay elsewhere.

Andy Roddick didn't even get as far as a five-star Beijing hotel, deciding instead it would be much more meaningful for his career to stay at home in the United States and build for next month's US Open. Such indifference will surely be borne in mind by International Olympic Committee officials the next time a cull of sports is due.

There have, however, been notable exceptions. Nadal, for example, who is shortly to usurp Federer as world No1, has been happily staying in the village and shrugging off the extra attention associated with being one of its more recognisable stars.

He said: "It is a pleasure to be here. I am very happy to have this experience in my life. People ask me a lot for a photo, but if they ask me for a picture, I just do it."

Australian Lleyton Hewitt was also determined to relish every moment of what will almost certainly prove to be his final Olympic experience. He said: "For us it feels like a team event more than anything. When you're playing 11 months of the year it's a very individual sport. I enjoy hanging around some of the other younger Aussie guys - and being a team."

Britain's Andy Murray - who continues his doubles campaign with brother Jamie today - is another who chose to stay in the athletes' village, ignoring advice that playing in the Games could hamper his US Open ambitions next month.