The Big Four seem to be shying away from staying at the Olympic Village in Rio for this summer’s Rio Games. Earlier this week, Andy Murray revealed that he’ll be spending time away from the Olympic Village in one of his press conferences at the Mutua Madrid Open. That prompted follow-ups to the other Big Four members present in the Spanish capital to be asked about their lodging plans in Rio.
Murray and Djokovic Talk About Their Absence in the Village
The Brit opened up that he enjoyed his experience in Beijing, but then followed up with that saying that he didn’t play his best tennis there. At London, Murray said he stayed away from the Olympic Village, and his results were remarkably better (2008: First round exit; 2012: Gold Medal)
'When I stayed in the Village in Beijing I had a great time, but my tennis was pretty bad there. I did something different obviously during London and that worked out well for me, so decided it was better to -- my job there is to try to prepare as best I can and win a medal for my country,” Murray said.
“I think the best, best way to do that is to prepare like you do for other events where you're in your own space and not in a pretty -- although it was very exciting - in a pretty manic place, the Olympic Village. It's different than what we're used to. Yeah, I think that's why the players are staying outside.”
Novak Djokovic then discussed that he’ll also be away from the Olympic Village, “We are going to I think spend at least a week before the tennis tournament starts. We're going to have more time to spend with athletes in the Village, so the week before I'm going to try to spend more in the Village. Once the tournament starts I think I'm going to be needing my space and privacy and peace practice, so I am going to use the other option.”
Nadal and Federer Unlikely to Stay Either
It’s been revealed that Roger Federer will be lodging quite a distance from the Olympic Tennis Center, about 137 kilometers away, meaning that the only Big Four member who could be around in Rio is Rafael Nadal. Nadal has denied that he’ll be staying in Rio, “I always said how staying in the Olympic village has been the best experience in my life, one of the things I value the most of the Games," Nadal said. "I don't imagine Games without staying in the village or at least I do not see like that. I respect the opinions of the others but it's an unique experience.”