Roger Federer hopes to 'save' his season with an Olympic gold medal after losing his Wimbledon crown and world number one spot to Rafael Nadal.
Federer has suffered a disappointing year by his own incredibly high standards, winning just four games from Nadal in the French Open final and then losing an epic Wimbledon final 9-7 in the fifth set to the Spaniard.
The Swiss star also only reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open in January and needs to win the US Open next month to avoid going an entire year without a grand slam title for the first time since 2002.
Such results have seen Nadal inexorably close the gap at the top of the rankings and the left-hander will officially assume top spot on August 18 after reaching the semi-finals of the Cincinnati Masters while Federer lost in the third round.
Federer insists his focus is on Olympic glory rather than the rankings, and is certainly talking up his commitment to the challenge of emulating compatriot Marc Rosset (1992) in winning gold.
"Anything that comes now would help my confidence a lot and make this season a very good one," said Federer. "It's been solid but I know people expect more from me."
"I've lost matches I should never have lost so that hurts, but Toronto and Cincinnati are not the tournaments that are going to make me cry for months and months. It's the Olympics and US Open."
"Hopefully I can still save this season with the Olympic Games or US Open. To say this season is bad just because I didn't win that epic (Wimbledon final) is a little hard."
"The focus is on the Olympic Games right now, not the ranking. Rafa has done very well to be No.1. A few days before the US Open there will be more questions but right now we are a few days ahead of the Olympics and I hope I can do well."
"It's possible [to get it back this year] but it depends on how Rafa and I play. Rafa has been very consistent so if I want it back I have to play rock solid until the end of the year and that means winning many tournaments."
"I know I can do it but if not it will be a goal in 2009."
Top seed Federer will face Russia's Dmitry Tursunov in the first round on Sunday and is in the other half of the draw to Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Britain's Andy Murray.
Second seed Nadal takes on Italy's Potito Starace while Murray, the sixth seed, faces Yen-Hsun Lu of Chinese Taipei and is scheduled to meet Nadal in the quarter-finals and possibly Djokovic in the semi-final.
Murray arrives in Beijing fresh from his first Masters Series victory in Cincinnati and Federer added: "I always thought he was very talented. He is playing well so I expect him to do well here."
"Tursunov is a dangerous player. He hits the ball very hard and serves well. He is a good player so I will have to be careful."
Federer will mark his 27th birthday in style tomorrow by again carrying the Swiss flag in the opening ceremony, as he did four years ago in Athens.
"To represent my country is very important for me," said Federer, who finished fourth in Sydney in 2000 but lost in the second round in