London 2012: 5 Bold Predictions for Men's Tennis at the Olympic Games

Only three short weeks after the Wimbledon champions are announced, the historic All England Club will be hosting another event: the 2012 Summer Olympics.

The green grass courts of Wimbledon have seen many tremendous athletes, and have been the center stage for one of the biggest events in tennis.

Now the All England Club is making a leap to the international stage.

On the men’s side of competition, Rafael Nadal of Spain took gold for men’s singles in 2008, while Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka won gold in doubles.

Looking forward to the men’s competition for this summer, the rosters aren’t exactly set in stone yet for each country.

Even without defined rosters, these outcomes are very likely to play out.

Roddick Exits Early

Andy Roddick has been a household name in the American tennis community since 2003, when he became ranked number one in the world—but this star has recently been fading.

Roddick was eliminated in the first round of the French Open (his first time since 2007) and in recent years has been searching for consistency. 

He did not participate in the 2008 Olympics to focus on the U.S. Open, where he lost to Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals.

Roddick is a tremendous athlete with a powerful serve, but he will struggle to find consistency in his game.

He loses before the quarterfinals.

Dark Horse: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

Who will come out of nowhere this summer, storming to the top and surprising everyone?

For men’s tennis, it will be Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga: an awesome name for an awesome tennis player.

Tsonga is relatively unknown to those outside the tennis world, winning only eight career singles titles.

But Tsonga, currently ranked fifth in the world, will go far in this summer’s Olympics.

Last year at Wimbledon Tsonga reached the semifinals, only losing to eventual-champion Novak Djokovic. 

Tsonga is this year’s dark horse for the Olympics. Look for the Frenchman to surprise many in London.

Bryan Brothers Take Doubles Gold

Twins Bob and Mike Bryan have been playing tennis together all of their lives.

What was once a rivalry turned into a dynamic duo on the tennis court. The Bryan brothers have won more than 700 matches together.

This is their third ‘go-round in the Olympic games and I’m picking them to take the gold in doubles competition.

They took bronze in Beijing, and are hunting for gold in England.

To add to their chances of taking gold: The Bryan brothers have won doubles twice at Wimbledon in the past five years.

Who can slow down this sibling team from getting gold at Wimbledon, where they’ve won before?

No Brits Earn Gold

Yes, Andy Murray is a young tennis star currently ranked fourth in the world—but that’s it.

No other Englishman is ranked in the ATP Top 100 for men’s singles.

This statistic doesn’t bode well for the host of the Olympics. Although Andy Murray is very talented, he will not bring home gold (see Rodger Federer) or any medal, for that matter. 

Murray has never won a grand slam title and has only reached the semifinals at Wimbledon.

Though Murray is a strong leader for the British, no Brits will take home medals for men’s tennis.

Federer Takes the Gold!

Currently ranked third in the world, Roger Federer isn’t exactly where he wants to be.

After being removed from his No. 1 ranking in 2008 by Rafael Nadal, Federer's dominance has fizzled.

Although he returned to the top spot in 2009, it was short lived. 

Although Federer didn’t earn a medal in the singles competition in 2008, he did take the gold in doubles with fellow Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka.

This summer, things will be different for Federer.

He will be back on top, winning gold in singles at the Olympics at Wimbledon, where he has won six Grand Slams since 2003.

Federer is on a mission to get back on top, and he will get there.