In the tennis tournament, Russian girls showed an outstanding result.
Elena Dementieva, Dinara Safina and Vera Zvonareva completely occupied the podium, winning all the medals of the women's singles tournament and at the same time bringing the Russian national team victory in the overall medal standings of the tennis tournament. This is the first time since 1908 when the entire podium was occupied by representatives of one country (100 years before the Russians, the British managed it).
Russian pedestal. Dinara Safina, Elena Dementieva, Vera Zvonareva
In the final with a score of 3: 6, 7: 5, 6: 3 Dementieva snatched the victory from Safina, and in the match for third place, Zvonareva easily outplayed the hostess of the competition Na li - 6:0, 7:5.
Elena Dementieva
The sisters took the lead in the women's doubles category Williams, echoing its 2000 Sydney success. And the eldest of the sisters, Venus, became the first woman in history to win 3 Olympic gold medals in tennis (in 2000 in Sydney, an American woman won gold in both categories).
Venus and Serena Williams
Spaniard won the men's tournament Rafael Nadal having outplayed the Chilean in the final Fernando Gonzalez.
Rafael Nadal on his way to Beijing "gold"
Gonzalez, who won bronze in Athens in 2004 and silver in Beijing, became the first tennis player since 1920 to win a medal in singles at two Olympics in a row. Plus, Fernando collected a full set of Olympic awards - four years earlier in Athens, he won gold in doubles (with Nicholas Massu) and bronze in singles.
Pedestal of honor in the men's singles tournament. From left to right: Fernando Gonzalez (Chile) - silver, Rafael Nadal (Spain) - gold, Novak Djokovic (Serbia) - bronze.
Swiss Roger Federer, who was considered the main favorite of the tournament, sensationally lost at the stage of the quarter finals and, thus, could not compete for prizes in the singles. However, the famous Swiss did not remain without a medal. Paired with Stanislas Wawrinka Federer won the men's doubles tournament.
Stanislas Wawrinka and Roger Federer celebrate victory in men's doubles tournament
All winners:
Men's singles
1. Rafael Nadal (Spain)
2. Fernando Gonzalez (Chile)
3. Novak Djokovic (Serbia).
Women's singles
1. Elena Dementieva (Russia)
2. Dinara Safina (Russia)
3. Vera Zvonareva (Russia).
Male doubles
1. Switzerland (Roger Federer, Stanislas Wawrinka)
2. Sweden (Simon Aspelin, Thomas Johansson)
3. USA (Bob Brian, Mike Brian).
Women's doubles
1. USA (Serena Williams, Venus Williams)
2.Spain (Anabel Medina Garrigues, Virginia Ruano Pascual)
3. China (Yan Zi, Zheng Zi).
Tennis is a game with a ball and rackets on a special area (a court 23.77 m long and 8.23 m wide), divided by a net fixed at a height of 1.07 m. The mesh is stretched over square and round pillars with a side and a diameter of no more than 15 cm.
Known since the days of the old French game, scoring is based on dividing the day by 24 hours (up to 24 games were played). The hours, in turn, were divided into four quarters; each successful ball was equal to one quarter of an hour - 15 minutes corresponded to 15 points. Thus, one game lasted up to 60 points, and the counting was carried out as follows: 15, 30, 45, 60. Over time, the number of games decreased to 6 in one set, and every third successful ball is now counted for 10 points, i.e. instead of 45, 40 is declared.
OLYMPIC GAMES
The tennis competition first appeared at the 1896 Games in Athens and lasted until Olympic Games 1924 in Paris, after which they were canceled. Then tennis was included in the Games program twice as a demonstration sport, until it again entered the competitive program of the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul. Initially, the competition was for men, with women appearing at the 1900 Games in Paris.
RUSSIA
On August 18, 1878, the "Manifesto on the World Development of Lawn Tennis in Russia" was promulgated, proclaimed by an initiative group headed by the writer and historian Dmitry Soloviev. By the beginning of the 20th century, there were 12 large tennis clubs in Russia.
The most titled tennis player in Russia is still Evgeny Kafelnikov, winner of two Grand Slam tournaments (Roland Garros 1996 and Australian Open 1999) and Olympic champion Sydney 2000 Singles. Marat Safin also won two Grand Slam tournaments (Australian Open 2005 and US Open 2000).
The most titled tennis player in Russia is Maria Sharapova. She has won five Grand Slam tournaments (Wimbledon 2004, US Open 2006, Australian Open 2008 and twice Roland Garros - in 2012 and 2014).
In 2008, Elena Dementieva became the champion of the Games in Beijing. In the Dementieva collection, this medal is the second at the Olympic Games: in 2000, in Sydney, the Russian woman won a silver medal. The tennis tournament in Beijing was a real triumph for Russian women's tennis: the entire podium was taken by representatives of the national tennis school. Dinara Safina won the silver medal, Vera Zvonareva won the bronze.
Successful performance at the Olympics continued in London in 2012. Maria Sharapova won a silver medal in singles, while Nadezhda Petrova and Maria Kirilenko won bronze medals.
At the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, the Russian national team again had gold medal in tennis. For the first time in the history of Russian tennis, it was won in doubles by Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina.
Photo - Sergey Kivrin and Andrey Golovanov
Tennis is a game with a ball and rackets on a special area (a court 23.77 m long and 8.23 m wide), divided by a net fixed at a height of 1.07 m. The net is stretched on pillars of square and circular cross-section with a side and a diameter of no more than 15 cm. The goal of the game is to send the ball to the opponent's half by hitting the racket so that he could not beat it off or beat it off in violation of the rules. 2 players (or 2 teams of 2 people) are on opposite sides of the net. One of them is serving and throws the ball into play, serves. The second player is the receiver. The task of the players is to direct the ball by striking the racket towards the opponent's side, while hitting the ball into the boundaries of the court. The player must have time to hit the ball before it touches the court more than once. The player at fault loses the rally and his opponent scores a point. Players need to collect points to win games. By gaining games, one of the players wins the set. To win a match, you must win 2 out of 3 or 3 out of 5 sets. As soon as one of the players reaches the required number of won sets, the match ends.
Tennis is a longtime Olympic discipline. The competitions were included in the Games program already in 1896, but they were removed from their composition in 1924. Tennis entered the Olympics again only in 1988, when the Summer Olympics were held in Seoul. Since 1900, tennis has been played by both men's and women's teams.
Participants in tennis games
Participants in the 2016 Summer Olympics in tennis in Rio de Janeiro are 172 athletes, 86 men and women each. In total, the Olympic Committee has prepared five sets of awards for tennis players in the following types of competitions:
- Men's singles (64 participants);
- Women's singles (64 participants);
- Men's doubles (32 duos);
- Women's doubles (32 duets);
- Mixed (16 pairs).
From one country, 12 athletes can go to the Summer Olympic Games, no more. Men and women, up to six of each sex. The qualification of the competition is still underway, the qualifying tournament has not ended at the beginning of June. The participants will appear in the final list only in June, shortly before the start of the Olympics itself. Only by this moment will the selection be completed. If a country has more than four tennis players who have the highest numbers in the world ranking, no more than four of them can participate in the Games.
Tennis competition calendar
The competition will begin on the second day after the start of the Olympics and will run from 6 to 14 August. For the Games, a hard court surface will be used, which contributes to a dynamic and tough game. It was decided that in this way it would be possible to increase the spectacle and drama that are well known to those who are fond of tennis.
- 6-7 August: 1st round in men's and women's singles and doubles;
- August 8: singles 1/16 finals, doubles 1/8;
- August 9: Singles and Doubles: 1/16, 1/8 and Quarterfinals;
- August 10: Singles and Doubles, round 1 starts for mixed doubles;
- 11 August: Quarter-finals for men in singles and mixed doubles, semi-finals for women;
- 12 August: finals of the men's doubles competition;
- August 13: finals for women in singles, matches for 3rd place in other disciplines;
- August 14: finals in men's singles, women's doubles and mixed.
Tennis traditionally gathers full houses when competitions of this magnitude take place. This is a very entertaining sport, where you can observe excellent technique, the ability to use unusual techniques, as well as psychological competitions.
For the game, a court is used, which necessarily has a special coating. A net is pulled in the middle, played with rackets and a ball covered with felt. Its bright color allows you to comfortably observe what is happening. To earn a point, a player or team sends the ball to an opponent without being able to hit it correctly.
"Olympiastadion" (Munich, Germany). Opened in 1972. Accommodates 69,250 spectators.
The final match of the first UEFA Champions League draw of the 1992/93 season took place at the Munich Olympic Stadium. “Marseille” and “Milan” fought for the trophy. The meeting, which took place on May 23, 1993, ended with the victory of the French team with a score of 1: 0.
The Munich arena hosted the second final of the main club tournament in Europe in 1997. In that match, Borussia Dortmund beat Juventus 3: 1.
Olympic Stadium (Athens, Greece). Opened in 1982, renovated in 2002-2004. Accommodates 69 618 spectators.
The Olympic stadium in the capital of Greece can be called a lucky one for Milan. After losing in the 1992/93 season finale, the Italian club again reached the decisive stage of the tournament the following year, where they defeated Barcelona 4-0.
Thirteen years later, the Rossoneri again entered the Athens Olympic Stadium as a trophy contender, and again they managed to win, this time over Liverpool - 2: 1.
Ernst Happel Stadion (Vienna, Austria). Opened in 1931, reconstructed twice - in 1986 and 2008. Accommodates 55,665 spectators.
The arena in the Austrian capital hosted the 1994/95 UEFA Champions League final, with Milan appearing for the third time in a row. Like two years earlier, the Italians lost 0-1, but this time to Ajax.
"Stadio Olimpico" (Italy, Rome). Opened in 1937, the last reconstruction was carried out in 1989-1990. Accommodates 72 698 spectators.
In the 1995/96 season, Ajax arrived in Rome as the current winner of the Champions League, but the Dutch club failed to defend their title. Already in the first half of the match with Juventus, the teams exchanged goals, after which they brought matters to a penalty shootout. “Bianconeri” were more accurate and won the main club trophy in Europe.
The Olympic Stadium in Rome won the right to host the 2008/09 Champions League final again, but this time the local teams failed to make it to the decisive stage of the tournament. The trophy this year was won by Barcelona, beating Manchester United 2-0.
"Amsterdam Arena" (Amsterdam, Netherlands). Opened in 1996. Accommodates 54,990 spectators.
The stadium, which now bears the name of Johan Cruyff, hosted the Champions League final just two years after opening. In May 1998, Real Madrid and Juventus met at the Amsterdam Arena. The match ended with a score of 1: 0 in favor of the Madrid club.
Camp Nou (Barcelona, Spain). Opened in 1957, reconstructed twice - in 1995 and 2008. Accommodates 99 354 spectators.
Barcelona's stadium has seen many memorable matches, but the 1998/99 UEFA Champions League final stands alone. That meeting between Bayern and Manchester United can be called legendary without exaggeration. The Germans took the lead already in the 6th minute and controlled the course of the game until the last minutes, but two goals, scored by the Mancunians in stoppage time in the second half, brought the victory to Manchester United.
"Stade de France" (Saint-Denis, France). Opened in 1998. Accommodates 81,338 spectators.
The arena, built on the outskirts of Paris, was the venue for the Champions League final for the 1999/2000 season for the first time. Meeting “Real” and “Valencia” ended with a confident victory of the Madrid club with a score of 3: 0. This was the first time in the history of the Champions League that clubs from the same country played in the final.
6 years later, in the 2005/06 season, Barcelona and Arsenal competed for the trophy at Stade de France. Londoners, from the 18th minute playing in the minority after the removal of goalkeeper Jens Lehmann, opened the scoring 10 minutes before the break, but in the second half goals from Samuel Eto “O” and Juliano Belletti brought victory to the Catalans - 2: 1.
"San Siro" (Milan, Italy). Opened in 1926. The last reconstruction was carried out in 1989. Accommodates 80,018 spectators.
Stadium "San Siro" was renamed in honor of Giuseppe Meazza in 1979, but the historical name of the arena remains the most popular and recognizable all over the world. The Champions League final has been played here twice.
In the 2000/01 season, Bayern Munich and Valencia played a dramatic match in Milan, in which the 11-meter kicks played the main role. Already in the 2 nd minute, Gaisk Mendieta brought the Spaniards ahead from the penalty spot, and after 4 minutes the goalkeeper of the “Bats” Santiago Canisares deflected the 11-meter kick performed by Mehmet Scholl. At the beginning of the second half, Stefan Effenberg equalized the score from the penalty spot, and the fate of the match was decided in a series of post-match strikes, in which Bayern's players were more precise.
15 years later, in May 2016, Real and Atletico in the same arena almost exactly repeated the scenario of the game of Bayern and Valencia. Regular time also ended with a score of 1: 1, in extra time the teams failed to distinguish themselves, and the “Royal Club” won in the penalty shootout.
Hampden Park (Glasgow, Scotland). Opened in 1903. Renovated in 1999. Accommodates 51,866 spectators.
Real Madrid and Bayer 04 entered Hampden Park in the Champions League final in May 2002, and six months later the arena celebrated its 99th anniversary. The match itself ended with a score of 2: 1 in favor of “Real” and was remembered for the most beautiful goal of Zinedine Zidane from the penalty line.
Old Trafford (Manchester, England). Opened in 1910. The last reconstruction was carried out in 2006. Accommodates 74,879 spectators.
The second single-country final in modern UEFA Champions League history took place in the 2002/2003 season. V decisive match tournament, which took place in Manchester, met Milan and Juventus. The main and extra time ended with a score of 0: 0, and in the penalty shoot-out series Milan won the victory with an accurate blow from Andriy Shevchenko.
"Veltins-Arena" (Gelsenkirchen, Germany). Opened in 2001. The last time the capacity of the stadium was increased in 2015, today it is 62,271 people.
The arena has been bearing its current name since the summer of 2005, earlier it was called "Aufschalke Arena". The stadium hosted the matches of the World Cup and ice hockey. Since 2002, the annual Christmas Biathlon Stars Race has been held here.
The 2004 Champions League final, held in Gelsenkirkhin, is one of the most memorable for Russian fans, as one of the goals was scored by Dmitry Alenichev. The Porto midfielder has set the final score of the match against AS Monaco (3-0). The Portuguese team at the time was led by Jose Mourinho, who became the youngest head coach in history to win the main club trophy in Europe.
Olympic Stadium (Istanbul, Turkey). Opened in 2002. Accommodates 80,500 spectators.
The stadium in Istanbul was built for the alleged holding of the 2008 Summer Olympics, but Turkey's bid did not receive the required number of votes, and the Olympics took place in Beijing. Currently, the arena in Istanbul is named after the first President of Turkey Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and is the largest in the country.
The 2005 Istanbul Champions League final is arguably the greatest in tournament history. In the decisive match, Milan beat Liverpool 3-0 after the first half, but goals from Gerrard, Schmitzer and Alonso turned everything upside down in the second half. There were no goals scored in extra time, and the British club turned out to be stronger in the penalty shootout.
Luzhniki (Moscow, Russia). Opened in 1956. The last reconstruction was carried out in 2017. Accommodates 81,000 spectators.
For the first time, Russia won the right to host the 2007/08 Champions League final, and this honorable mission was entrusted to the Luzhniki Grand Sports Arena. Chelsea and Manchester United fought for the trophy, the first time two English teams faced off in a Champions League decisive match.
The game caused great excitement among fans both in England and in Russia, more than 67 thousand spectators were present in the stands. In the middle of the first half, Cristiano Ronaldo brought Manchester United forward, but before the break, Frank Lampard equalized. The second half and extra time passed without goals scored, and in the penalty shootout, the Mankunians were more precise.
"Santiago Bernabeu" (Madrid, Spain). Opened in 1947. The last reconstruction was carried out in 2001. Accommodates 81,044 spectators.
The home arena of one of the most successful clubs in modern football has hosted the Champions League final only once - in the 2009/10 season, but this so far only match has gone down in history.
In the Madrid final, Inter and Bayern Munich met. The match ended 2-0 in favor of the Italian club, and Jose Mourinho, who was working with the Nerazzurri at that time, became the third coach in history who managed to win the Champions Cup with two different teams (now there are five of them: in addition to the Portuguese Ernst Happel, Ottmar Hitzfeld, Jupp Heynckes and Carlo Ancelotti).
An interesting fact is that in the 2010 final there was only one Italian in the Milanese - Marco Materazzi, and even he appeared on the field in the 90th minute of the match.
Wembley (London, England). Opened in 2007. Accommodates 90,000 spectators.
The new Wembley is built on the site of the legendary arena that has hosted the World and European Championships, the Olympic Games and many European Cup finals.
The 2010/11 Champions League final, which took place at the new Wembley, was somewhat home to Manchester United, but that didn't help the Mancunians win the trophy. Barcelona, led by the Xavi - Iniesta - Messi trio, won 3-1.
In 2013, Wembley hosted the first German Champions League final between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. The victory and the cup were brought to the Bavarians by the accurate blow of Arjen Robben, who in the 89th minute set the final score - 2: 1.
Allianz Arena (Munich, Germany). Opened in 2005. Accommodates 67,812 spectators.
The decisive match of the 2011/12 Champions League was the first final of the tournament, which took place at the home stadium of one of the participants in the meeting - Bayern Munich hosted Chelsea. The account was opened only in the 83rd minute after hitting the hosts striker Thomas Muller, but five minutes later the leader of the attacks of Londoners Didier Drogba restored the balance.
The fate of the trophy was decided in a penalty shootout. “Bayern” again took the lead after a precise shot by Philip Lam and a miss by Juan Mata, but then the players of the guests realized all their attempts, while the players of the German team made two misfires. Thus, Chelsea won the Champions League for the first time in their history.
Millennium (Cardiff, Wales). Opened in 1999. Accommodates 73 930 spectators.
The home arena of the Wales national team was opened at the turn of the millennium, having received the corresponding name, but in 2016 the stadium received a new name - Principality Stadium, which, with a certain amount of imagination, can simply be translated as "Princely Stadium", since Wales is part of the United Kingdom, and the Queen's son Elizabeth II Charles bears the title of Prince of Wales.
But back to the Champions League. The final of the main club tournament in Europe took place here in 2017, with Real Madrid and Juventus participating in that match. Madrid won 4: 1 and won the second Champions League title in a row, and football fans will remember that meeting with the super goal of the Turin striker Mario Mandzhukic.
Metropolitano (Madrid, Spain). Opened in 1994. Renovated in 2017. Accommodates 67,700 spectators.
Liverpool and Tottenham met in the 2019 Champions League final. The final was the first in history for Tottenham and the first since the final in 2013, where at least one Spanish club did not play. Liverpool, reaching the final for the second time in a row, won the match 2-0. In his third Champions League final, Jurgen Klopp won the trophy as head coach.
Upcoming tennis tournament XXXI summer The Olympic Games will be the fifteenth in the history of the Olympics and the eighth in the recent history of tennis - after tennis returned to the Olympic sports in 1988.
On Olympic tournament five sets of medals will be played: in singles and doubles for men and women, as well as in the category of mixed pairs. The tournament will be held under the auspices of the International Olympic Committee, with the support of the ITF. Participants in the tennis tournament at the 2016 Olympics will not receive points in the ATP and WTA ratings.
All matches in the tournament will be played in a three-set format. An exception is the final of the men's singles tournament, which will be held in a five-set format. The decisive set in all categories, except for the "mixed", will be held without a tie-break. In case of equality in the parties in the "mixed" game, the winner will be determined according to the "champion tie-break" system.
Serb Novak Djokovic got the first seed in singles in men. The leader of the world ranking starts with a match against Argentinean Juan Martin Del Potro, to whom he lost in the bronze medal match at the 2012 Olympics in London. Already in the second round, Novak can meet with the Portuguese Joao Sousa, whose starting rival is the Dutchman Robin Haase. The most likely rival of Djokovic in the third round match is the American Jack Sok, who has secured the status of a Top-30 player.
In a duel for reaching the semifinals of the Games, the Serbian player can meet with the Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or the Spaniard Roberto Bautista-Agut, who already has two titles in 2016, won in competitions with hard surface. Luxembourger Gilles Müller is quite capable of preventing the former, while the Russian Andrey Kuznetsov will try to block the way of the latter at the start.
Also at the top of the grid is the Spaniard Rafael Nadal, who will start his performance with a match with Argentinean Federico Delbonis. Really serious competition to Raphael in the fight for reaching the quarter finals of the competition can be imposed only by the Frenchman Gilles Simon, whose results in recent times are not encouraging. Against Rafael, the fact is that he has not yet fully recovered from his left wrist injury. Obviously, if health allows Nadal to perform in full force, then the Spaniard with a high degree of probability will fight for a medal of the highest standard.
In the third quarter, Japan's Kei Nishikori, who reached the Masters final in Toronto, will begin his tournament career. In the first round, he will meet with the Spaniard Albert Ramos, who had an excellent clay part of the season. Then Kei, most likely, will confront the Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis. Problems for the Japanese can begin in the 1/8 finals, where he can play with the German Philip Kohlschreiber.
The fight in the final quarter of the grid promises to be interesting as well. Of course, the status of the main favorite here belongs to Andy Murray, who won gold at the London Olympics. This is not surprising, because the Briton won the Grand Slam tournament - Wimbledon for the first time in three years.
The lot was favorable to Andy in Rio de Janeiro. Although a somewhat dangerous opponent can meet Murray only in the third round, and even then the most likely contender for this - the Frenchman Benoit Peer - is far from being in optimal shape.
Only in the quarter-finals, the Briton, whose entry into this stage is beyond doubt, can face any difficulties, although, in all honesty, neither Spaniard David Ferrer nor American Steve Johnson should become a serious obstacle for Murray.
The main character at the top will be the leader of the world ranking table, American Serena Williams. The current champion of the Games will begin her tournament career with a duel with Australian Daria Gavrilova.
In the second round, Serena can meet with Frenchwoman Alize Cornet, whose starting rival will be the Swede Johanna Larsson. In the match for reaching the quarterfinals, Williams Jr. is likely to fight with Ukrainian Elina Svitolina. In a quarterfinal duel, Serena's rival may be Italian Robert Vinci or Czech Petra Kvitova.
Spaniard Garbin Mugurusa and American Venus Williams will start in the second quarter of the upper half of the tournament bracket. However, Swiss Timea Bachinski and Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova are quite capable of preventing them from meeting in the quarterfinals.
Mugurusa will begin his performance with a duel with Serbian Elena Jankovic. Already in the second round, the Spaniard can fight the Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu, and in the 1/8 finals of the Olympics she can play with Pavlyuchenkova.
Venus Williams will face Belgian Kirsten Flipkens in the opening round. Already in the next match, the American can play with the Czech Lucy Shafarzhova, and Bachinski may become a rival of Venus in the third round match.
The third quarter of the tournament grid turned out to be no less interesting. Here, the fourth racket of the tournament, Polka Agnieszka Radwanska, will start her performance. In the first round, Agnieszka will meet with the Chinese woman Zheng Saisai. The first really dangerous rival of the polka can be the Russian woman Daria Kasatkina, with whom Radwanska can fight in the second round.
For reaching the quarterfinals of the competition, Agnieszka will most likely compete with Czech Barbara Strykova. In the quarterfinal match, the polka can play with the American Madison Keys, who became the vice-champion of the competition in Montreal a week ago.
In the second quarter of the bottom half of the tournament grid, the German Angelique Kerber, who received the second number at the seeding, will start the competition. The winner of the Australian Open at the start of the tournament will meet with Colombian Mariana Duque-Marina. Despite the fact that Angelique was unable to reach the final of the tournament in Montreal, she looks like the favorite in her part of the bracket.
In the second round of the tournament, the German will play with the winner of the meeting between the Canadian Eugenie Bouchard and the American Sloane Stevens, and then, most likely, will oppose the Australian Samantha Stosur, who received the 13th number at the seeding.
In the upper part of this quarter, the main focus will be on Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova. In the first round, Svetlana will face off against the Chinese woman Jiang Wang. Then either the Romanian Monica Niculescu, or Veronica Sepede-Roig from Paraguay will stand in the way of Kuznetsova. In the third round, the Russian woman can meet with the British Johanna Conte.
