Athens Medal the US Open Curse

None of the men's medal winners at the Athens Olympics will be around for week two at the US Open, with Nicolas "The Golden Child" Massu, Mardy "Silver" Fish, and bronze winner Fernando "Gonzo" Gonzalez all ousted in the first four days.

On the women's side bronze medalist Alicia Molik was bounced, while silver medalist Amelie Mauresmo and the gold standard Justine Henin-Hardenne are still in contention.

"Most of the players who played well at the Olympics and then come here have had many problems at the beginning of the tournament," Henin-Hardenne said. "It's not easy coming from Europe, coming from Athens. Really tough conditions, a big tournament then a week after you are again in a Grand Slam. A lot of pressure. I can see that most of the players are having problems."

Anastasia Myskina, who lost/tanked the bronze medal playoff in Athens after choking against H-H, bombed out in a little over an hour Thursday, in the Russian tanking tradition saying she "didn't want to fight, didn't want to run, didn't want to do anything".

"My goal was an Olympic medal, for sure," Myskina said. "That match stays with me forever. I guess it's a lot of energy and I'm not really able to recover after that match. When I was here first days, I was still crying about."