August 04, 2008	Monday	Sha'aban 1 429

BEIJING, Aug 3: German tennis player Rainer Schuettler sent an application to the

Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Sunday, asking world sport’s highest authority to give him a spot at the Beijing Olympics.

“Rainer Schuettler claims that he should be allowed to compete in the games, considering that he has been entered by the German National Olympic Committee (NOC) and that he is eligible as a result of his position in the ITF computer ranking, due to the withdrawal of some players who were qualified for the Olympic tournament,” CAS said in a statement.

The 33rd-ranked Schuettler is asking CAS to order the International Tennis Federation to enter him into the men’s singles competition in Beijing.

The Olympic tennis tournament starts next Sunday, two days after the opening ceremony, and will finish Aug 17.

The hearing before three CAS arbitrators -- Michael J. Beloff of Britain, Luigi Fumagalli of Italy and Alan Sullivan of Australia -- is scheduled to take place Monday morning in Beijing.

Australian Open finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France, Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus, Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina, Robin Haase of the Netherlands and Stefan Koubek of Austria have withdrawn from the games.

Maria Sharapova, Amelie Mauresmo and two-time Grand Slam champion Mary Pierce are among the women who have withdrawn.

The ITF used the ATP and WTA rankings as a guide to determine who gets the 56 direct spots in the men’s and women’s singles competitions. Six of the remaining eight spots in each tournament were given out by the ITF’s Olympic Committee.

Each country, however, was limited to a maximum of six players in each tournament, with up to four competing in singles and up to two teams in doubles.—AP