Olympics Tennis First Round Roger Federer Against Dmitry Tursunov

BEIJING – Top-ranked Roger Federer will play Russia's Dmitry Tursunov in the first round of the Beijing Olympics tennis tournament.

Rafael Nadal, who will replace Federer atop the rankings in the week after the Olympic tournament, drew Italy's Potito Starace in the first round and could meet either former No. 1-ranked Lleyton Hewitt or Jonas Bjorkman of Sweden in the second round.

No. 3-ranked Novak Djokovic faces American Robby Ginepri and James Blake is against Chris Guccione of Australia.

On the women's side, top-seeded Ana Ivanovic of Serbia drew Ukraine's Mariya Koryttseva and No. 3 Svetlana Kuznetsova takes on China's hope, Li Na.

Bjorkman and Koryttseva were among the 12 players granted special places in the Olympic tournament by the International Tennis Federation.

Who Is Roger Federer
Roger Federer was born on August 8, 1981, Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player, ranked World No. 1 for a record 238 consecutive weeks.

Federer has won twelve Grand Slam singles titles (three Australian Open, five Wimbledon, four US Open), four Tennis Masters Cup titles, and fourteen ATP Masters Series titles. Federer holds many records in the game, including having appeared in ten consecutive Grand Slam men's singles finals (2005 Wimbledon Championships through the 2007 US Open) and 17 consecutive Grand Slam singles semifinals (2004 Wimbledon - present). He also holds the open era records for consecutive wins on both grass courts (65) and hard courts (56). He has a storied rivalry with Rafael Nadal.

Federer's success has prompted a number of tennis critics, legendary players, and current players to consider him to be the greatest tennis player in history. In 2008, he was named Laureus World Sportsman of the Year for a record fourth consecutive time.

Federer was born in Basel, Switzerland, to Swiss-German Robert Federer and South African Lynette Federer (née Durand). He grew up in suburban Münchenstein, ten minutes from Basel and close to the borders of France and Germany. In addition to tennis, he also played football as a boy and considered becoming a professional footballer before deciding to pursue a career in tennis. He continues to support FC Basel, his hometown club and is a fan of Italian club AS Roma. As a youngster, he enjoyed watching Marcelo Ríos in action. He especially liked Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg and Marcelo Rios and has cited them as idols.

Who Is Dmitry Tursunov
Dmitry Igorevich Tursunov was born on December 12, 1982 in Moscow, Russia, Tursunov is a Russian professional male tennis player. He was 12 years old when he moved overseas to further his prospects of becoming a professional player. Tursunov went to live in the U.S. and has lived there ever since.

Tursunov is an offensive baseliner with excellent groundstrokes from both sides and prefers to play on faster surfaces; he jokes about his lack of ability and success on clay courts. He is sponsored by Fila and Wilson.

Tursunov helped the Russian Davis Cup team win the 2006 Davis Cup, and reach the finals of the 2007 Davis Cup.

FYI - 2008 Beijing Olympic Sports