Bad boy Bode bidding to rub shoulders with Federer and Nadal at US Open

Alpine SkiingSummer Sports

OLYMPIC gold medallist and global skiing superstar Bode Miller is bid to swap the mountain for the Meadows as he attempts to qualify for the US Open tennis championship later this year.

CHANGE OF TACK: Olympic alpine skiing champion Bode Miller is bidding to qualify for the US Open tennis championship

The 32-year-old, banished his Olympic demons in February, collecting one gold, one silver and one bronze medal to add to the two silvers he won in Salt Lake City in 2002.

The 2006 Games bore witness to Miller’s rebellious side, where only his partying was Olympic-sized, but he has since mellowed, achieved his Olympic goal and will turn his attentions elsewhere this summer.

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Miller will be competing in the sectional qualifying tournament in Honolulu, Hawaii this week with the winner advancing to the US National qualifying tournament in August where spots at the final tennis grand slam will be decided.

While widely-regarded by many as the most talented skier of his generation, Miller is also a notable tennis player and was the 1996 Maine State singles champion while his family run a tennis camp in New Hampshire.

And he will get the chance to appear at Flushing Meadows because of a new policy introduced by the US Tennis Association to give anyone over the age of 14 the chance to play their way to the main draw at the US Opens through a new national playoffs system.

Miller, a two-time alpine skiing World Cup overall champion, sees his foray into tennis as a new competitive outlet ahead of the start of the new skiing season later this year.

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