Olympic Tennis 2012: 4 Players Roger Federer Would Love to Avoid

Roger Federer has reached the quarterfinals of the 2012 Summer Olympics.

His road has been mostly smooth, but he also hit a few bumps on the way.

His matches from here on out will only get more difficult with each new round.

The top half of the draw doesn't seem to present too many problems for him, but there are still a couple of athletes that he could do without facing.

I have picked the biggest challenge for Federer in each quarter of the draw.

Here are the four toughest opponents, in order, for Switzerland.

John Isner

Big John Isner is putting his great serve to good use at this grass tournament.

Should he beat Janko Tipsarevic, he will go on to face Federer in the quarterfinals.

He has beaten Fed-Ex once before in the Davis Cup, a team and country-oriented competition that bears a strong resemblance to the Olympics.

Federer seems to be more focused this week than he was during the entire Davis Cup series against America, but it will be interesting to see who serves bigger on the day.

Don't count on Isner to beat Janko Tipsarevic at all.

Juan Martin Del Potro

The Argentine has not defeated Federer since he returned from surgery, but he has given Roger some stern tests (even when he's lost in straight sets).

Having said that, their most recent encounters have been increasingly close.

Del Potro lost in straight sets in Dubai without dropping his serve (the Swiss won each tiebreaker) and at Roland Garros after taking a two-set lead.

With Del Potro perhaps returning to top form, Federer would love to see David Ferrer or Kei Nishikori eliminate him from contention (keep in mind, the Spaniard dismantled him a few weeks ago in London).

Andy Murray

The famous contender, who has yet to break through and win his first Grand Slam, can give himself added confidence by winning a singles medal at the Olympics this year.

To reach the final, he must defeat Marcos Baghdatis, followed by Nicolas Almagro, before facing the winner of Novak Djokovic and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Murary can certainly reach the semifinals and earn a bronze medal, but it would be tough for him to beat Djokovic and Federer back-to-back.

Meanwhile, it would be just as tough for Federer to face Andy again in a rematch of the Wimbledon final. The Swiss maestro would likely prefer to play Tsonga. 

The Winner of Novak Djokovic vs. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

As much as Federer wants to avoid this match, it seems he may be on a collision course with inevitability.

The winner of this quarterfinal matchup will likely move on to the best-of-five-sets format in the final.

Both players have given Federer trouble in the past, but Djokovic has not fully challenged him at Wimbledon.

On the other hand, Tsonga has never won it all at the All England Club.

Whatever happens, it should be compelling and enjoyable, and Federer will only have to play better if he wants to take home the singles gold.

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