Tennis stars stay away from Commonwealth Games
Scotland named their tennis squad for the Commonwealth Games over the weekend, and there was one glaring absence from it: world No. 4 Andy Murray.
The inclusion of tennis on the schedule at this year’s Commonwealth Games hasn’t exactly seen the big names flocking to Delhi to compete, and there is little surprise that as Murray turns into the home straight of the tennis season, October’s Commonwealth Games aren’t part of his schedule.
Murray’s omission from Scotland’s tennis squad for Delhi, follows reports last month that Australia’s men’s and women’s No. 1s Lleyton Hewitt and Sam Stosur won’t be donning the green and gold as tennis makes its Commonwealth Games debut in 2010.
While Scotland are without Andy’s services, brother Jamie has been named in a squad that also includes British women’s No. 1 Elena Baltacha, and lesser-known trio Mhairi Brown, doubles specialist Colin Fleming and 19-year-old Jocelyn Rae.
“I know for a fact I will be seeded which is a great help. I am definitely going to Delhi for a medal, it will be difficult to achieve but that’s my aim,” Baltacha is quoted as saying on the Commonwealth Games Scotland website.
As much as a gold medal might mean to the world No. 56 ranked Baltacha, it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that tennis’ inclusion in the Commonwealth Games is little more than a sideshow; a gold medal would be little more than the equivalent of winning the title at an ITF Challenger level tournament.
The reality is the majority of the world’s best players don’t belong to Commonwealth countries, and the best of the players who do are better served sticking to the ATP or WTA tournaments as they seek to boost their rankings ahead of the season-ending championships.
A detour via Delhi at the expense of scheduled ATP or WTA tournaments doesn’t make sense for Murray or the world No. 6 ranked Stosur – players who rightly have beating the world’s best on their minds, and with the best will in the world, the Commonwealth Games simply don’t offer players of that calibre any real benefit.
These are players who seek Grand Slam glory above all else, and both of them have this year come within one victory of being crowned Grand Slam champions as they carve out a place among the tennis elite. Neither needs a Commonwealth medal to prove their worth in the sport.
The fact the biggest available stars won’t be contesting the medals in Delhi should be a fair indication of what should be the future of tennis at the Games, which would be better served by sticking to a programme of swimming, athletics, and other sports where winning a gold medal holds some allure for the best in the business.
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