Olympic Pressure for Some, But Others Don’t Care

Written by: Staff on 23rd July 2012

Olympic Pressure for Some, But Others Don't Care

epa03281499 Nadia Petrova of Russia returns to Maria Elena Camerin of Italy during their first round match for the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 25 June 2012. EPA/FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA |

Russian tennis player Nadia Petrova is under pressure to soar at the Olympics for medal hungry Russia. But Slovakia’s Dominica Cibulkova says that the Olympics are just another tournament for her and are not at the same level of the Grand Slams.

Many players who will head to London this week say that winning a medal would be lifetime achievement. But other would prefer not to contend with the national pressure.

Russia has rich Olympic history and holds the competition near to its heart. At the 2008 Games in Beijing, Russians Elena Dementieva, Dinara Safina and Vera Zvonareva won the gold, silver and bronze medals.

That’s why Petrova and her teammates Maria Sharapova, Zvonareva and Maria Kirilenko are expected to produce.

“Definitely the Russian mentality is if you are going to the Olympics you have got to be winning medals and failure is not acceptable,” Petrova said. “In Fed Cup [the international tennis team competition for women] we have the same mentality. Russians are a bit hard on themselves and we have high expectations. We want to achieve a lot of our goals in our careers.”

Petrova, 30, thinks she has a better chance to medal in doubles than in singles, as she and Kirilenko have played well together this year. But life will go on for her if she and her teammates don’t medal, although it might not for Mother Russia.

“I’m sure something will be said in the press, for them it’s hard to understand how you went and didn’t win a medal, but they don’t understand the whole picture,” she said. “I won’t be disappointed if I leave the Olympics without a medal as long as I give my best effort.”

Slovakia has never won a medal in tennis, but natives recall a feat by one of their own when they were still part of the Czechoslovakia back in 1988, when Miloslav Mecir won the Olympic gold in singles at the Seoul Games. Mecir would become a top five player and reach two Grand Slam finals, but Cibulkova says his gold his what made his reputation.

“I think not even half of the Slovakia knows that he was in finals of US Open or finals or of other Grand Slam, but they know that he won a gold medal,” she said.

London will be Cibulkova’s second Olympics, but she was happier going deep at the WTA Premier Level tournament in Carlsbad, California, the Mercury Insurance Open, than she was thinking about a medal.

“Of course Olympics is something different, they ask me also at home if the Olympics, if I’m proud that I represent Slovakia,” said Cibulkova

“But it’s not the highlight of the year for me. It’s just the next tournament for me that I take. The Olympics are important. But Grand Slams are the biggest for me.”

©Daily Tennis News Wire

Topics: Dinara Safina, Dominica Cibulkova, Elena Dementieva, London Olympics 2012, Nadia Petrova, Russian tennis news., Sports, Tennis News, Vera Zvonarev