Olympics Notes

Andy Murray and the rest of Great Britain’s tennis players are "determined to soak up the Olympic team spirit" generated at London 2012, but will have to do most of it "at a distance." Geography dictates none of the British tennis team will be staying in the Olympic Village during competition. How many of them participate in Friday’s opening ceremony "will be dictated by the order of play for the next day," when play starts at Wimbledon (SUNDAY TIMES, 7/22).

HELPING HAND: In London, Rajeev Syal wrote that Tony Blair said that his wife Cherie Blair, was "instrumental in securing the 2012 Olympic Games for London." Cherie Blair lobbied many of the less well-known IOC delegates. The success of the bid was previously put down to a number of prominent people, including Ken Livingstone, Sebastian Coe and David Beckham. Cherie Blair's role "may come as a surprise to many" (GUARDIAN, 7/22).