Mardy Fish might skip London Olympics
Mardy Fish won the silver medal in singles at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. (Elise Amendola/AP)
Top-ranked American and former Olympics silver medalist Mardy Fish said he's undecided about whether he'll play in the London Games this summer.
"I have a lot of great memories from the Olympics, and I have a lot of tough memories from the Olympics as well," Fish, who lost a five-set gold-medal match to Nicolas Massu in Greece in 2004, told reporters at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami. "It sounds amazing. My memories from Athens, I'll always have. So we'll see."
Fish, who did not compete in Beijing four years ago, cited scheduling as the reason why he might pass this time.
"Staying closer to home, playing tournaments that I'm comfortable in," the 30-year-old said.
The London Olympics come up against ATP tournaments in Los Angeles, where Fish reached the finals last year, and Washington, D.C., where he could pick up points after missing the event last year. The Games will be played at Wimbledon, where Fish had never gotten past the third round before reaching the quarterfinals last year.
The top 56 men in the June 11 ATP rankings receive direct acceptance into the Olympic singles tournament, with a maximum of four per country. The Americans who follow No. 8 Fish in the rankings are No. 10 John Isner, No. 34 Andy Roddick and No. 46 Donald Young. No. 69 James Blake and No. 73 Ryan Harrison are among those currently outside the cutoff.
Meanwhile, Fish is working with a new coach in Mark Knowles, a 40-year-old doubles specialist who still competes on tour. Fish had yet to win back-to-back matches this year entering the Sony Ericsson Open, but he has three consecutive victories in Miami en route to the quarterfinals.
"He's a huge help," Fish said of Knowles. "He's got his work cut out for him the past month or so trying to get me back on track. He's got a great tennis mind."
Fish and Knowles played doubles together in 2010 and teamed up again in Miami, losing in the first round last Friday.
