Fifth Grand Slam awaits

HONG KONG: The Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open. And this year, a fifth Grand Slam: the Beijing Olympics. With the sport's biggest names lining up for a shot at gold, the Olympic tennis tournament provides a welcome shake-up to the usual order of service. “The Olympics comes around only once every four years, and the US Open is there every single year,” said Russian glamour queen Maria Sharapova. “It has been a dream of mine ever since I was a little girl.” The sense of excitement is refreshing from the highly paid, well-travelled tennis elite, some of whom will carry their nations' flags at the glittering opening ceremony. “An Olympic gold would be something very special,” admitted top-ranked Roger Federer, who has placed Beijing at the top of his list this year. Lindsay Davenport, winner in 1996,... [read full story]