Tennis once again returns as a sport at the Rio Olympics and all eyes will be on world number one Novak Djokovic as he attempts to emulate Andre Agassi and Rafael Nadal in achieving the Golden Career Slam.
The Djoker, whose shock third round loss to Sam Querrey at Wimbledon ended his hopes of becoming the first man to achieve the Golden Calendar Slam, will start as the favourite to win the only prize to elude him in his illustrious playing career.
He previously won the Bronze Medal in 2008 and lost to Juan Martin del Potro in the playoff for the same colour medal at London in 2012.
Challenging him as always will be world number two and reigning Olympic gold medallist Andy Murray, as well as Beijing gold medallist Rafael Nadal and two-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka.
But the biggest absentee is that of Roger Federer, who has just about given up on his goal of achieving the Golden Career Slam, having fallen short when he lost to Andy Murray in the gold medal match at London in 2012.
The Swiss sadly pulled out of the Olympics due to a knee injury which he first sustained shortly after the Australian Open and will sideline him for the remainder of the 2016 season.
There are also some notable absentees in the form of recent Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic, the Czech Republic’s Tomas Berdych, Frenchman Richard Gasquet and American serving machine John Isner, among others.
Before we look at the contenders, let’s quickly recap what happened at London in 2012.
Gold Medal: Andy Murray (GBR)
Silver Medal: Roger Federer (SUI)
Bronze Medal: Juan Martin del Potro (ARG)
Gold Medal match: Andy Murray (GBR) defeated Roger Federer (SUI) 6-2, 6-1, 6-4
Bronze Medal match: Juan Martin del Potro (ARG) defeated Novak Djokovic (SRB) 7-5, 6-4
Now, let’s have a look at the main contenders for the medals on offer at Rio in 2016.
Novak Djokovic (SRB)
Current world ranking: 1
Titles won this season to date: Doha, Australian Open, Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid, French Open, Wimbledon, Rogers Cup
Grand Slam results so far in 2016
Australian Open: Won
French Open: Won
Wimbledon: Third round
Olympics history
Best result: Bronze Medal (Beijing 2008)
London 2012 result: Fourth place
If there is a prohibitive favourite for the gold medal in Rio, it’s world number one Novak Djokovic.
The Serb entered this year with the aim of becoming the first man in tennis history to achieve the Golden Calendar Slam, which has only ever been done by Steffi Graf in 1988.
He was two-fifths on the way to achieving that when he entered Wimbledon on the back of winning his sixth Australian Open title and first French Open title, the latter completing his Career Grand Slam set on the fifth attempt.
But his dreams of making history were thwarted at the All England Club when he lost in the third round to unheralded American Sam Querrey, ending the following major streaks:
* 30 consecutive match victories
* Four consecutive titles between Wimbledon last year and this year’s French Open
* 28 consecutive major quarter-finals
The Djoker returned to action recently at the Rogers Cup in Toronto and was quick to put his disappointing Wimbledon campaign behind him, defeating Kei Nishikori to win his eighth title this season and 30th Masters title.
Now he arrives in Rio with the aim of winning the Olympic gold medal, which would see him join Andre Agassi and Rafael Nadal in achieving the Golden Career Slam (that is, winning all four majors as well as Olympic Gold).
His last Olympic outing, at London in 2012 saw him reach the semi-finals, where he lost to the eventual gold medallist, Andy Murray, before subsequently losing the Bronze Medal playoff to former US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro.
Of course, his best result came at Beijing in 2008 when he defeated James Blake to win Bronze, that coming after he had lost his semi-final to the eventual gold medallist that year, Rafael Nadal.
And so, what will Rio in 2016 have in store for the world number one?
Prediction: gold medal
Andy Murray (GBR)
Current world ranking: 2
Titles won this season to date: Rome, Queen’s, Wimbledon
Grand Slam results so far in 2016
Australian Open: Runner-up
French Open: Runner-up
Wimbledon: Won
Olympics history
Best result: gold medal (London 2012)
London 2012 result: gold medal
One man who has had a consistent 2016 season is world number two Andy Murray.
The Scot started his season by reaching another Australian Open final, but was still unable to crack it as he lost in straight sets to nemesis Novak Djokovic.
That was then followed by poor results at Indian Wells and Miami before he embarked on another strong clay court campaign, which saw him reign in Rome before reaching his first French Open final, losing again to Djokovic.
It was before his victory in the Italian capital in which he split from coach Amelie Mauresmo following a much-publicized two-year partnership, leaving him coachless for his run at Roland Garros.
He then reunited with Ivan Lendl with the hope that he could rediscover the form that saw him win Olympic Gold at London in 2012, as well as the US Open that same year and at Wimbledon in 2013, all under the Czech’s coaching.
The move paid immediate dividends as he won a record fifth Queen’s title, and then his second Wimbledon title and third major overall, both by beating Milos Raonic in the final.
The 29-year-old has not played since, electing to forgo the defence of his Rogers Cup title as he bids to become the first man or woman to successfully defend the Olympic gold medal in tennis.
Murray captured the hearts of Britain when he destroyed Roger Federer in straight sets to win the gold medal at the All England Club four years ago, just four weeks after losing to the same man in four sets in his first Wimbledon final.
He had earlier defeated Stan Wawrinka in the first round and Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals, and later went on to win the Silver Medal in mixed doubles with Laura Robson (the pair lost to the Belarussian pair of Victoria Azarenka and Max Mirnyi in the gold medal match).
While he will be a contender for the gold medal again, I think he’ll fall short, but only by just.
Prediction: Silver Medal
Stan Wawrinka (SUI)
Current world ranking: 4
Titles won this season to date: Chennai, Dubai
Grand Slam results so far in 2016
Australian Open: Fourth round
French Open: Semi-finals
Wimbledon: Second round
Olympics history
Best result: Second round (Beijing 2008)
London 2012 result: First round
One man who will be hoping to improve his Olympic record is two-times Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka.
Unseeded in London four years ago, Wawrinka was unfortunate to draw home crowd favourite Andy Murray in the first round, and was embarrassed in straight sets by the eventual gold medallist on his least favoured surface of grass.
But since then the Swiss has risen up the rankings, winning his first Grand Slam title at the 2014 Australian Open by upsetting Rafael Nadal in four sets, rising to a career-high ranking of world number three in the process, before defeating Novak Djokovic to win the French Open the following year.
This year, Wawrinka has been quiet but was able to win two titles, in Chennai and Dubai earlier this year, and reached the semi-finals at Roland Garros where he lost to Andy Murray on clay for the first time.
That came in between a fourth round exit at the Australian Open and a disappointing second round exit at Wimbledon where he was defeated by Juan Martin del Potro.
In Rio, Wawrinka will represent Switzerland’s best chance of a medal, with compatriot Roger Federer, with whom he won the gold medal in doubles at Beijing in 2008, having all but given up on his dream of an Olympic gold medal after withdrawing due to a knee injury which will sideline him for the rest of this year.
It will now remain to be seen how Wawrinka performs as the best hope his country has of Olympic success next week.
Prediction: Fourth place
Rafael Nadal (ESP)
Current world ranking: 5
Titles won this season to date: Monte Carlo, Barcelona
Grand Slam results so far in 2016
Australian Open: First round
French Open: Third round
Wimbledon: Did not play
Olympics history
Best result: gold medal (Beijing 2008)
London 2012 result: Did not play
While Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray have dominated for most of the season, one man who has struggled with injuries and poor form is fourteen-times Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal.
The Spaniard’s season of frustration started when he lost in the first round of the Australian Open to compatriot Fernando Verdasco, marking just the second time Nadal had ever lost in the first round of a major.
He then lost a hat-trick of semi-finals in Buenos Aires, Rio de Janiero and Indian Wells to Dominic Thiem, Pablo Cuevas and Novak Djokovic, all of whom went on to win the title, respectively.
Nadal started to turn things around when he won record ninth titles at both Monte Carlo and Barcelona, but that would then be proceeded by losses to Andy Murray and Djokovic in Madrid and Rome respectively.
He was then forced to withdraw midway through the French Open due to a wrist injury; the Spaniard has not played since, with the same injury also forcing his withdrawal from Wimbledon.
It now remains to be seen whether the 30-year-old can prove his fitness in time for Rio, which would be his first Olympics since winning the gold medal at Beijing in 2008, ascending to world number one for the first time in the process.
The Spaniard was also the favourite to win the gold medal at London in 2012, despite suffering a humiliating second-round defeat to unheralded Czech Lukas Rosol at Wimbledon a month earlier.
But a persistent knee injury would force his withdrawal from the Games in what Nadal said at the time was “one of the saddest moments of my career”. It cleared the way for Andy Murray to eventually capture the top prize.
Despite his recent injury woes, the Spaniard will be one to watch out for in Rio. Can he repeat his glorious run to the gold medal from eight years ago, or will injury impede him?
Prediction: Bronze Medal
Other notable contenders
* Kei Nishikori (JPN)
* Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA)
* Gael Monfils (FRA)
* David Ferrer (ESP)
Notable absentees
* Roger Federer (SUI)
* Milos Raonic (CAN)
* Tomas Berdych (CZE)
* Richard Gasquet (FRA)
* Dominic Thiem (AUT)
* John Isner (USA)
* Nick Kyrgios (AUS)
* Feliciano Lopez (ESP)
* Bernard Tomic (AUS)
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