Olympic Mixed Doubles is a Big Deal This Year
Olympic Mixed Doubles is a Big Deal This Year 
Normally mixed doubles is something of an afterthought at Grand Slam events, for the most part contested by specialist doubles players with the prize money minimal in comparison to what the leading protagonists receive in singles. However with Olympic gold medals, some of the big names have been tempted and controversy is centered on some team decisions.
After months of conjecture on just who Serena Williams might team up with for the United States, possibly Andy Roddick, John Isner or one of the Bryan brothers, she has chosen to sit out the competition and concentrate purely on the Women’s singles and doubles. Instead doubles specialists Liezel Huber, Lisa Raymond and the Bryan brothers, Mike and Bob, get the nominations.
“I really wanted to play with Andy and Bob, and I couldn’t decide,” she explained. “Plus I don’t think it would be appropriate for me to play all three. I thought, Liezel is such a great teammate and team player; why shouldn’t she be able to play two events and win the gold for the USA?”
So the U.S. will have two teams with Lisa Raymond and Mike Bryan looking for a reprise of their Wimbledon title less than a month ago this summer while Liezel Huber and Bob Bryan, who have won two major titles together – the 2009 French Open and 2010 U.S. Open.
“We all discussed it,” U.S. coach Mary Joe Fernandez said Tuesday. “I think it was the best decision for the team. It’s a lot of matches in a short amount of time. You don’t want to jeopardize the other events. We’re lucky we have so many possibilities in matchups.
Venus Williams wasn’t expected to play mixed doubles because she’s already in two other events and dealing with an autoimmune disease that causes fatigue.”
She said she and Serena will be glad to concentrate on singles and their doubles partnership. “We already have a ton of matches ahead of us in just a few days, so I think it was better for us to focus on these two events,” said the winner of three Olympic gold medals.
The full mixed doubles entry list reads:
Argentina: Gisela Dulko / Juan Martin del Potro.
Australia: Samantha Stosur / Lleyton Hewitt.
Belarus: Victoria Azarenka / Max Mirnyi.
Czech Republic: Lucie Hradecka / Radek Stepanek.
Germany: Angelique Kerber / Philipp Petzschner; Sabine Lisicki / Christopher Kas.
Great Britain:Â Laura Robson / Andy Murray.
India: Sania Mirza / Leander Paes.
Italy:Â Roberta Vinci / Daniele Bracciali; Sara Errani / Andreas Seppi.
Poland:Â Agnieszka Radwanska / Marcin Matkowski.
Russia: Elena Vesnina / Mikhail Youzhny.
Serbia: Ana Ivanovic / Nenad Zimonjic.
Sweden: Sofia Arvidsson / Robert Lindstedt.
USA: Lisa Raymond / Mike Bryan; Liezel Huber / Bob Bryan.
Alternates.
1. Spain: Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez / Marcel Granollers.
2.Romania: Irina-Camelia Begu / Horia Tecau.
3. Canada: Aleksandra Wozniak / Daniel Nestor.
4. Poland: Klaudia Jans-Ignacik / Mariusz Fyrstenberg
Topics: Andy Roddick, Bob Bryan, John Isner, Liezel Huber, Lisa Raymond, London Olympics, London Olympics tennis mixed, Mike Bryan, Serena Williams, Sports, Tennis News
Share this article:
Follow 10SBALLS.COM on:
10sBalls Top Stories
- No Key Biscayne, No Problem; New Site, Same Great Miami Open Tennis Event
- 10SBALLS SHARES FAVORITE EPA TENNIS PHOTOS Of 2018
- THE PERFECT HOLIDAY GIFT FOR ANY TENNIS PLAYER & FAN
- ATP MEN’S TENNIS • WILL IT MOVE FROM LONDON TO MANCHESTER OR TOKYO OR SINGAPORE? OR TURIN?
- ALIX RAMSAY WRITES TO “TENNIS SANTA CLAUS” WITH HER WISHES • ANDY MURRAY!
- CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS AT THE JACK KRAMER CLUB – DECEMBER 15 TO 22 2018 • UTR • ORACLE • AND AN AWESOME NEW TENNIS EVENT
- 10sBalls.com Shares Alix Ramsay’s Rambling On About Tennis and The Holidays
- ROGER FEDERER JOINED BY RAFA NADAL FOR THE 2019 LAVER CUP FESTIVITIES IN GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
- TENNIS PLAYERS’ UNION – IS IT NEEDED? BY MARK WINTERS
- Tennis News: Wilson’s Revolution Is Here – THE CLASH
- ROTTERDAM TENNIS TOURNEY DIRECTOR RICHARD KRAJICEK ANNOUNCES DAVID GOFFIN TO PLAY IN 2019 ABN AMRO
- JELENA VEMIC’S PHOTO GALLERY
- TENNIS NEWS FROM LONDON • 10SBALLS REPORTS ON THE LAWN TENNIS WRITERS HOLIDAY LUNCHEON AT WIMBLEDON’S DEBENTURE CLUB
- 10sBalls.com Shares a Great Gift For A Tennis Player – The Functional Tennis Match Journal
- BNP PARIBAS TENNIS OPEN NAMED 2018 WTA PREMIER MANDATORY TOURNAMENT OF THE YEAR FOR FIFTH STRAIGHT YEAR
In Case You Missed It
EUGENIE BOUCHARD NAMED 2018 TENNIS CANADA FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR / EUGENIE BOUCHARD NOMMÉE JOUEUSE DE L’ANNÉE 2018 DE TENNIS CANADA
Tennis Canada announced on Wednesday that Eugenie Bouchard is the winner of the 2018 Excellence Awards in the Female Player of the Year and Singles Player of the Year categories.
TENNIS NEWS • CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS • TOMMY HAAS, TAYLOR FRITZ, STEVE JOHNSON, MARDY FISH AND MORE
Time to get tickets to watch! Surly you have heard about The Largest Open Tennis Event in America!
TENNIS NEWS • RAFA NADAL CONFIRMS RETURN TO PRACTICE, EYES ABU DHABI EXHIBITION AND AUSTRALIAN SUMMER
According to Uncle Toni, Rafael Nadal was supposed to be back at practice on either Dec. 4 or 5. Well, better late than never!
Conchita Martínez prepara la temporada 2019 de Karolina Pliskova en Tenerife
Española y checa ya trabajaron juntas durante el pasado Open de Estados Unidos