Beijing: Roger Federer may be anticipating a "dream Olympics" but, with just three days to go until the Beijing Games start, the dark cloud of doping was becoming as much a part of the atmosphere here as the pollution enveloping the Chinese capital.
Federer, once the unchallenged king of men's tennis, has been eclipsed in recent months by Rafael Nadal with the Spaniard defeating the Swiss ace in both the finals of the French Open and Wimbledon.
But Federer was confident he could turn his form around to finish on top of the podium. "I still have plenty of tournaments to do well in, and I hope I can start here at the Olympics and fulfill my dream to win gold," he said on Tuesday.
And he received a boost when nemesis Nadal admitted his tough season was starting to catch up with him. "I only arrived on Monday and I've got jet-lag but I'm more tired than normal."
Meanwhile the biggest problem facing 100m world record holder Usain Bolt came not from his opponents but from the Jamaican not knowing whether he was still going for a sprint double.
Despite coach Glen Mills having confirmed this week that Bolt would race the 100m and 200m in Beijing, the sprinter seemed unsure when informed of his likely schedule.
"It's not exactly decided," Bolt initially said on Tuesday.
"I'm 80 per cent sure. My coach hasn't really told me."
When told Mills had indeed confirmed he was to double up, a confused Bolt replied: "He didn't actually communicate that to me.
"It's the first miscommunication I've had with my coach. I hope it doesn't happen again."
At least Federer and Bolt will, late injuries permitting, have the chance to compete which is something that now appears to be an increasingly forlorn hope for Russian race-walkers Valery Borchin and Vladimir Kanaikin.
Both men, a Russian athletics federation source said in Moscow, failed a dope test and "are unlikely to compete at Beijing".
Last week athletics' world governing body, the IAAF, provisionally suspended seven leading Russian female athletes for the suspected switching of urine samples in drug tests last year.
However, some clouds have a silver lining with fencer Andrea Cassara called-up Tuesday into the Italy squad after the country's world number one foil specialist Andrea Baldini was confirmed Monday as having tested positive for a banned diuretic.
Beijing was again been blanketed by smog on Tuesday, reviving concerns that poor air quality would hamper athletes' performances.
But Professor Arne Ljungvist, chairman of the International Olympic Committee's medical commission said on Tuesday: "I'm confident the air quality will not pose major problems to the athletes."
Defending badminton champion Taufik Hidayat's health was endangered even before he reached Beijing.
Just nine days ago the Indonesian was languishing in hospital with dengue fever.
Nevertheless, he clambered off his sick-bed and headed straight for the practice courts. "All the people said 'Taufik you are crazy, like you are just coming out of hospital and the next day you are training', but I say 'I'm okay', (although) I only had one week for training," Hidayat said on Tuesday.
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