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12/18/08 6:38 AM | Ricky Dimon
Throughout the off-season, TennisTalk will recap Rafael Nadal's and Roger Federer's most memorable moments in 2008. Part 4 for Federer features his gold medal-winning performance in doubles at the Beijing Olympics.
Going into the 2008 Summer Olympics, Roger Federer was floundering; and that's putting it mildly. The Swiss had not won any of the season's first three Grand Slams; not even a single Masters Series event. He got destroyed by Rafael Nadal in the French Open final, relinquished his Wimbledon crown to Nadal a month later, and was assured of losing his No. 1 ranking soon after the Olympics.
As if the Olympic tournament was not important enough in itself, Federer also needed it to give him a confidence boost heading into the U.S. Open later that month, because he was in serious danger of going a whole year without winning a slam.
When Federer got upset by James Blake in the quarterfinals of the Olympic singles tournament, it looked like that would simply add insult to injury over a season gone wrong.
Hope, however, came in an unexpected form.
Partnering with Stanislas Wawrinka, Federer was in the midst of a relatively surprising run through the doubles draw. The two Swiss singles stars had only played doubles together once previously in 2008, losing in the second round of the Masters Series Canada to Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy in straight sets. But with more at stake, Federer and Wawrinka turned it all around.
They dispatched Simone Bolelli and Andreas Seppi in the first round of the Olympics then eased trough Dmitry Tursunov and Mikhail Youzhny. With a semifinal spot on the line, Paes was next up for the Swiss duo. The veteran doubles specialist was teaming up with Indian compatriot Mahesh Bhuphati, but the team could not recapture the magic of yesteryear. Federer and Wawrinka rolled over them 6-2, 6-4.
Then came the Bryan Brothers--Bob and Mike Bryan--with the winner clinching at least some sort of medal. Federer and Wawrinka needed just two sets to upset the No. 1 team in the world, as they prevailed 7-6(6), 6-4. With a formidable but far from imposing Swedish team of Thomas Johansson and Simon Aspelin awaiting them in the title match, Federer seemed to be destined for a gold medal. To come this far and win anything less would be a disappointment.
For once this season, there would be no disappointment. The Swiss tandem defeated Johansson and Aspelin 6-3, 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-4 (in a three-out-of-five final).
What made it so special was how much it meant to the players. There were no ranking points on the line, no money to be won; heck, this wasn't even singles. But it was a gold medal, and it was obvious that for the winners, that was all they could ask for and more. The childish and giddy celebration of Federer and Wawrinka (with Federer pretending to cool of Wawrinka, who was lying on his back) is one of the lasting images of the 2008 tennis season.
"It's incredible that we managed to stay on track to win in doubles, especially as we were both a bit down after losing in singles," Federer explained. "A magical moment. Something incredible in my career."
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