Olympics - Maria Sharapova widely fancied for Olympic gold at London 2012

Visit Save For Later

by Crunch Sports Staff

Posted

Maria Sharapova (credit: BEN STANSALL/AFP/GettyImages)

Russia's Maria Sharapova is second favourite to win gold in the women's singles at London 2012 when the Olympic tennis event gets underway next week.

Sharapova may have been playing professional tennis for 11 years now, but amazingly this is the 25-year-old's first Olympics.

The sheer strength of Russian tennis back in 2004 meant that Sharapova didn't make the team despite being Wimbledon champion, and four years ago she was forced out of the Beijing Olympics with a torn rotator cuff.

Competing at the Olympics has been a lifelong dream for Sharapova, and after an outstanding 2012 season so far (she won the French Open and reached the Australian Open final) , he's a hot favourite to win a medal.

Given her iron will and determination, it will be quite a surprise if she doesn't win a medal at Wimbledon.

"Competing at the Olympics been a dream of mine since I was very young," Sharapova told reporters.

"Tennis in Russia when I was growing up till the age of seven was not very big. Over the years, you've seen how successful it has become in my country and now how important it is to be a tennis player as part of the Olympics.

"Also it will be my first one and something I've dreamed of since I was a young girl, so I really can't wait."

Serena Williams of the United States is the bookmakers' favourite to win the gold medal.

Like Like

All Tennis News

Recent Tennis Articles

French Open 2013 - Novak Djokovic insists he can win at Roland Garros19 May 2013
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic is looking to put his Rome Masters disappoint behind him, and believes he can go the distance at the 2013 French Open. Djokovic held a 6-2 5-2 lead against Tomas Berdych on Friday at the Rome Masters, but incredibly fell victim to an outstanding comeback, as the big Czech...
Andy Murray could miss 2013 French Open to focus on Wimbledon19 May 2013
Andy Murray could withdraw from the 2013 French Open in a bid to avoid jeopardising his chances at Wimbledon by returning too quickly. Judy Murray has revealed that her son's main priority this summer is Wimbledon after the Scot had to pull out of the Rome Masters this week due to a back problem, w...
Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal - Live Stream and ATP Rome final preview19 May 2013
Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal takes place this afternoon in the final of the 2013 Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome.The ATP Rome final takes place at Foro Italico and is scheduled to start at 16:00 BST.In the United Kingdom, Federer vs. Nadal airs live on Sky Sports 4/Sky Sports 4 HD, while the ...
Serena Williams vs. Victoria Azarenka preview - Serena faces Azarenka in WTA Rome final35 minutes ago
Serena Williams takes on Victoria Azarenka this afternoon in the final of the 2013 Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome (12:30 BST start). Serena is looking unstoppable at the moment and she predictably extended her winning streak to 23 matches with a 6-3 6-0 win over Simona Halep in Saturday' semi-...
French Open 2013 - Rafael Nadal in superb form ahead of this year's French Open18 May 2013
The 2013 French Open is fast approaching and Rafael Nadal is in great form ahead of the start of play at Roland Garros, leading to many questioning whether anybody can stop the Spaniard from winning another Grand Slam title in Paris.Things can change very quickly in tennis. Just a few weeks ago, ...
Roger Federer vs. Benoit Paire preview - Federer out to make Rome Masters final18 May 2013
Roger Federer takes on Benoit Paire tonight in the semi-finals of the 2013 Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome (19:00 BST start). Federer has been playing with a point to prove all week after his disappointment at the Madrid Masters. He's been dispatching opponents with the authority of old, and it...
Rafael Nadal vs. Tomas Berdych preview - Nadal, Berdych set for Rome Masters showdown18 May 2013
Rafael Nadal takes on Tomas Berdych this afternoon in the semi-finals of the 2013 Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome (15:00 BST start). Berdych has a huge amount of confidence after his sensational comeback against Novak Djokovic on Friday. The Czech trailed 6-2 5-2 at one point, but he took advan...
Victoria Azarenka vs. Sara Errani preview - Azarenka looks to reach WTA Rome final27 minutes ago
Victoria Azarenka takes on Sara Errani this afternoon in the semi-finals of the 2013 Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome (13:00 BST start). One thing's for sure, Errani will get plenty of support for this afternoon's showdown as she is the first Italian to reach the semi-finals in 27 years. It's a ...
Serena Williams vs. Simona Halep preview - Serena set for WTA Rome semi-finals45 minutes ago
Serena Williams takes on Simona Halep today in the semi-finals of the 2013 Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome (11:00 BST start). We didn't know a huge amount about Halep before this week, but the Romanian has been showcasing her talent with some extremely impressive displays in Rome. She like...

Recent Articles

ATP Rome - Rafael Nadal thrashes Roger Federer to win Rome Masters1 second ago
Rafael Nadal handed Roger Federer another clay-court masterclass in the final of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome on Sunday. Nadal was in a class of his own in Rome and handed Federer one of the most one-sided beatings of his career to clinch his seventh title in the Italian capita...
Arsenal FC, Liverpool FC target Ashley Williams coy on transfer talk3 minutes ago
Swansea defender Ashley Williams, who has been linked with Arsenal, is remaining coy over the possibility of a summer move away from the Liberty Stadium. Liverpool were linked with Williams, who was made Swansea captain under former manager Brendan Rodgers, who is now in charge at Anfield, during t...
WTA Rome - Serena Williams crushes Victoria Azarenka in Internazionali BNL d'Italia final9 minutes ago
Serena Williams beat Victoria Azarenka on Sunday to win the 2013 Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome. Serena smashed 41 winners past Azarenka in Rome to claim her fifth title of the year and her third on clay, taking her winning streak to 24 matches. It wasn't quite as easy as the 6-1 6-3 sco...
Liverpool FC striker Andy Carroll wanted by West Ham on permanent deal44 minutes ago
West Ham are in talks with Liverpool about signing striker Andy Carroll on a permanent deal. Carroll left Newcastle for Liverpool at the start of 2011 for a British record £35million, but endured a disappointing spell on Merseyside and was shipped out on loan to the Hammers last summer. The 24-year...
Chelsea FC, Man Utd target Radamel Falcao could join AS Monaco - Claudio Ranieri54 minutes ago
Claudio Ranieri has revealed that AS Monaco are hopeful of winning the race to sign Atletico Madrid striker Radamel Falcao, who has also been linked with the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United. Falcao has been linked with a number of top clubs from across Europe in recent weeks and is widely be...
ATP tennis rankings - latest ATP rankings for May 20th, 20131 hour 2 minutes ago
Novak Djokovic remains world No.1 in the latest ATP tennis rankings, ahead of Andy Murray, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Nadal is back up to fourth in the world, leapfrogging David Federer after seeing off Federer in the final of the Rome Masters on Sunday. Nadal cruised to a superb 6-1 6-3 win o...
Arsenal FC 'can beat anyone' says Theo Walcott as AFC secure top-four finish1 hour 21 minutes ago
Theo Walcott has called for Arsenal to mount a title challenge next season after the Gunners clinched a Premier League top-four finish on Sunday, qualifying for next season's Champions League.A Laurent Koscielny goal gave Arsenal a 1-0 win at Newcastle on the final day of the season, with the narro...
Chelsea FC close in on Jose Mourinho as Carlo Ancelotti confirms Real Madrid CF contact1 hour 30 minutes ago
Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed that he has received a proposal from Real Madrid after confirming he will leave Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the season. Ancelotti recently admitted that it would be hard to turn down the Real job as speculation continues that current coach Jose Mourinho is set to...
Ronaldo and Mourinho to Chelsea FC? Cesar to Arsenal FC? Benitez to Everton FC? Sunday's transfer round-up19 May 2013
Sunday's round up of the top transfer stories from the past 24 hours... - Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo is a target for Chelsea, according to the . - Sir Alex Ferguson insists David Moyes will decide Wayne Rooney's future at Manchester United this summer. - Rafael Benitez has refused to r...