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Tarpishev advised against her request: "We want her fresh during her matches." Alessandro Mastroluca
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Early Exits for Roddick and Sharapova -
Christopher Clarey, The New York Times -
Sharapova can't save herself in Wimbledon loss - La Sharapova non si salva dalla sconfitta a Wimbledon
Matt Cronin, FOXSports.com
When it rains, it pours for Maria Sharapova. The Russian suffered her earliest exit in a major tournament since the Us Open 2003 on Thursday.
But before the match, she dealt with another personal defeat. The Russian federation, in fact, has rejected her request to carry her country's flag during the opening ceremony at the next Olympic Games. They were worried that she could feel excessively drained by playing a key role in the parade, and this could negatively affect her pursuit of gold medal.
"She wanted to be a flag bearer, but I advised against it," Russian tennis chief Samil Tarpishev confirmed. ""I don't want her to spend three or four hours in hot weather waiting to march in the opening ceremony. We want her to be fresh, not tired, during her matches."
Perhaps Sharapova's image didn't help her too much in this matter. She's too concerned with fashion and glamour, and other players, like Alla Kudryavtseva who defeated her yesterday, don't view it well.
Besides, she has lived in Florida since age seven, and has often declined to play Fed Cup ties. And, to complete the picture, she has decided not to stay in the village with other athletes during the Games. "She said she didn't want to stay in the Olympic village because it's very noisy there, and she needed plenty of rest between matches," Shamil Tarpishchev told Reuters.
Like her, another member of the Russian tennis team, Elena Dementieva, will find lodging elsewhere.
This probably explains the Federation's reasons. The flag-bearer must be an athletic symbol of the country, a sort of manifestation of the entire national sporting movement. Maria is an exception in everything she does, she is like no one else. And it's difficult to think of her as the sporting version of the "Freedom leading people" by Delacroix.
Alessandro Mastroluca
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