Navratilova to set Olympic record in Athens

LONDON (Reuters) -- Tennis chiefs have given Martina Navratilova the green light to set an Olympic record at the Athens Games next month.

The 47-year-old's spot on the U.S. team was officially accepted by the ITF on Thursday which means she will become the oldest player to compete in tennis at an Olympics in the history of the modern Games.

The Czech-born American will eclipse the mark of Blanche Hilliard who was 44 at the 1908 London Games and Norman Brookes who competed for Australia at the 1924 Paris Olympics age 46.

The tennis event will be staged from August 15-22.

The men's singles will feature 2004 Australian Open and 2003 Wimbledon champion Roger Federer of Switzerland, 2003 U.S. Open champion Andy Roddick of the U.S. and Argentine 2004 Roland Garros champion Gaston Gaudio.

Other big names signed up to compete include Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero and Carlos Moya, Argentines Guillermo Coria and David Nalbandian, as well as Britain's Tim Henman.

Leading women set to battle for medals are headed by world No. 1 Justine Henin-Hardenne of Belgium.

Wimbledon champion Serena Williams, her elder sister and defending Olympic champion Venus Williams and 1992 Olympic gold medalist Jennifer Capriati will all represent the United States.

French Open champion Anastasia Myskina and 2000 Olympic silver medalist Elena Dementieva will fly the Russian flag.

Top Greek

Direct acceptance was based on the men's and women's rankings of June 14 with the first 56 places in the men's and women's singles draw based solely on ranking, with a limit of four players per country.

Two places in each singles draw were selected by a commission comprising of the International Olympic Committee, National Olympic Committees and the International Tennis Federation (ITF), while six places were selected by the ITF Olympic Committee based on a combination of ranking and geographic diversity.

Fifty-three countries will be represented at the tennis event in Athens, one more than competed in Sydney.

The host nation, Greece, will be represented in all four draws. Their top player, Eleni Daniilidou, ranked 32 on June 14, 2004, will compete in both women's singles and, with Christina Zachariadou, in doubles.

Greece's top male player, Konstantinos Economidis, ranked 252 on at the cut-off date, will compete in men's singles and, with Vasilis Mazarakis, in doubles.

"This is the best field we have had for tennis in the Olympic Games," said ITF President Francesco Ricci Bitti.

"Athens will be only the fifth Olympics since tennis returned as a full medal sport in 1988. It took a few years for the players and the fans to understand what an honor and a privilege it is to compete for your country in the Olympic Games but the response that we have received shows that the Olympics is now one of the most important events in tennis.

"At the same time, tennis has become one of the most important events in the Olympic Games."

Twenty-seven of the top 30 men will compete in the men's singles competition, and 23 of the top 30 women.

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