London 2012: The Best Tennis Player from Every Country

The London Olympics are almost here! The golden opportunity for all the greatest players in the world to ply their wares there for the second time this year after Wimbledon.

The Olympics will see the top players from every country striving to win a medal in their event. Many, like Roger Federer, are looking for the chance to add an Olympic medal to their cabinet.

Stronger nations like Russia, Spain and USA have eight players representing their countries, while others have one player from their country showing up for either the men's, the women's or the mixed competition.

Romania, Kazakhstan, Japan and Ukraine have more than three players representing their singles teams at the Olympics, but none with any major stars in their lineup. 

Smaller countries (in terms of their impact on the ATP or WTA Tour) like New Zealand, India, Liechtenstein, Paraguay, Georgia and Luxembourg have one singles player turning up for the Olympics.

Let us look at the top players from each country (limited to the Top 20) who are showing up at the Olympics.

Brazil: Thomaz Bellucci

Thomaz Bellucci is the top-ranked Brazilian tennis player.

Rafael Nadal found Bellucci tough in the first set of their first round at Wimbledon, but very soon Rafa was back to his best.

Will Bellucci go one better this time?

China: Li Na

Li Na represents the red nation's best hope at the Olympics.

Having won the 2011 French Open, Li Na has struggled to regain the form she had.

Losing in the second round of Wimbledon will mean that Li Na has to recover very rapidly.

Cyprus: Marcos Baghdatis

The Cypriot was the runner-up at the 2006 Australian Open and reached semifinals at the 2006 Wimbledon Championships.

Having reached a singles ranking of World No. 8 in 2006, Baghdatis' recent event of fame was that of him destroying four rackets during a match at the Australian Open.

At this year's Wimbledon, Baghdatis lost to Andy Murray in the third round, extending the Scot to four sets.

Germany: Angelique Kerber

Kerber is the highest-ranked player from Germany, currently at No.8.

At Wimbledon this year, Kerber gave a strong sendoff to Kim Clijsters in the fourth round.

After defeating her compatriot Sabine Lisicki in the quarterfinals, Kerber lost to Radwanska in the semis, ending a great run at the tournament. 

Canada: Milos Raonic

The Canadian lost in the second round of Wimbledon to Sam Querrey in four sets.

Raonic's stature has increased in the last 12 months, especially after his impressive run at the 2011 Australian Open.

Capable of serving strongly, Raonic has the potential and willpower to make a match at the Olympics.

Denmark: Caroline Wozniacki

The Dane is a former World No. 1 on the WTA Tour but has reduced to No.7 in the rankings.

Losing in the first round at Wimbledon, Wozniacki has been—as holds true with all the others on the WTA Tour—struggling to regain her old glory.

Being the lone ranger from her country in the singles competition, Wozniacki will be going all-out to gain further glory.

Australia: Bernard Tomic

Australian Bernard Tomic lost the first-round fight against another impressive teenager, David Goffin, in four sets at the 2012 Wimbledon.

Though Hewitt is also present in the mix, Tomic represents the best choice for Australia to gain a medal in the Olympics.

Being the 2008 junior Australian Open winner, Tomic has very quickly climbed the rankings to offer a great challenge to the other players on the Tour.

Belarus: Victoria Azarenka

Victoria Azarenka is the current No. 2 on the WTA Tour after being dethroned by Maria Sharapova.

The Belarusian lost to eventual winner Serena Williams in the semis after steamrolling her prior opponents.

Another lone ranger in the singles from her country, Azarenka will be favorite to reach the last four in the Olympics.

Argentina: Juan Martin Del Potro

The Argentine has not done well after his lone single Grand Slam win at Flushing Meadows.

Currently ranked ninth in the world, Del Potro lost in the fourth round at Wimbledon to David Ferrer.

Along with David Nalbandian, Del Potro will give Argentina its best shot to gain a medal at the Olympics.

Czech Republic: Petra Kvitova

The Czech might have lost her Wimbledon crown thanks to her quarterfinal loss to Serena Williams, but she is looking forward to the next opportunity to gain ground.

Though she is ranked No. 4 in the world, Kvitova has shown the potential to reach as high as No. 2 earlier this year.

Tomas Berdych is her top-ranked compatriot on the men's side, and the pair will be a dream team to combine for the mixed event.

Italy: Sara Errani

The Italian beat all odds to reach the French Open final last month but was thrashed in the third round by Yaroslava Shvedova at Wimbledon.

Sara has been ranked in the Top 10 in both singles and doubles events on the WTA Tour—she has the likes of Flavia Pennetta and Roberta Vinci to give her company at the Olympics.

The question is: How soon will she recover from the golden-set drubbing she faced in Wimbledon?

Poland: Agnieszka Radwanska

The Pole fought hard to try to avoid a fifth crown for Serena at the 2012 Wimbledon.

It was a gigantic effort to stretch the match to the third set, but Serena packed too many punches for Radwanska.

Ranked No. 3 in the world, Radwanska has been consistent in the last few tournaments to gain recognition as a high-potential medalist.

France: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga leads a strong French contingent at the Olympics containing Giles Simon, Richard Gasquet and others.

Wimbledon has seen Tsonga play at the top of his game, and the Olympics might just see him take the next steps to glory.

Having lost in the semifinals at Wimbledon, Tsonga will be itching to take the next two steps at the Olympics.

Belgium: Kim Clijsters

Though not ranked as the highest Belgian, Clijsters has the best chance from her country to win a medal.

Kim Clijsters did not have a great Wimbledon, thanks to Kerber's great game in the fourth round.

This being her last year on the Tour, Kim will be waiting to have a golden farewell. 

Russia: Maria Sharapova

Maria Sharapova leads a strong Russian contingent at the Olympics after her career Grand Slam achievement.

Though she lost to Lisicki in the fourth round at Wimbledon, Sharapova will be motivated enough to win a medal at the Olympics.

With others like Zvonareva, Petrova and Kirilenko to give her company, Maria will be expected to call the shots.

United Kingdom: Andy Murray

Andy Murray was not able to take the last step at Wimbledon 2012 against champion Roger Federer.

Murray was seen worried about his fitness during the final against FedEx—hopefully he will be able to regain his fitness soon.

With younger brother Jamie on his side on the familiar grounds of Wimbledon once again, Murray will have to quickly recover from the loss and launch another attack on his competition at the Olympics.

USA: Serena Williams

If Serena Williams (and Venus as well) has her concentration and focus right, there is hardly anyone who can give her a fight.

With Isner and Roddick also in the fray, the American contingent has enough reasons to believe that they can come back with a big haul.

Serena is motivated and charged up after the Wimbledon victory—will the rest of the lineup have any chance at all?

Spain: Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal lost in the second round of Wimbledon after a record-breaking title at Roland Garros.

Nadal is the current champion at the Olympics, and he will give his best to retain his title.

Ferrer, Almagro and Verdasco will give him company—a sign of the strength of the Spanish Armada.

Serbia: Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic might have lost his Wimbledon title losing to Federer in the semifinals, but he is not finished.

Novak will be very much looking forward to the Olympics to unleash his revenge on the Tour after losing two Grand Slam finals.

Djokovic was the runner-up at Beijing, and he will definitely like to add an Olympics gold to this growing set of titles.

He leads a strong Serbian team, with the likes of Tipsarevic, Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic giving him company.

Switzerland: Roger Federer

Roger Federer won the doubles gold for Switzerland at the last Olympics.

After his successful Wimbledon campaign, Federer will be looking for a repeat at the London Olympics.

With the form he showed in the finals at Wimbledon, there is no doubt that Roger will be among the medalists in both the singles and doubles—mostly the gold ones.

Federer wanted to play the mixed doubles with now-retired Martina Hingis, but that was not to be.

Will the 30-year-old genius continue his streak at the Olympics? There will be very few who will say no after his performance at Wimbledon 2012.