Hail Federer the fencer, Serena the figure skater

LONDON (Reuters) - Serena Williams glides across the skating rink. Ana Ivanovic leaps to the net in beach volleyball.

Roger Federer poses as a fencer. Rafael Nadal fulfils his boyhood dream as a soccer player.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of tennis being reinstated to the Olympics, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) persuaded 40 of the world's top players to dress up as athletes from other sports.

The result, launched at Wimbledon on Tuesday, made for some intriguing choices in a glossy coffee table book "Journey to Beijing: Tennis Celebrates the Olympics."

As befits a truly international sport, the photo shoots spanned the globe.

Chile's Olympic champions Nicolas Massu and Fernando Gonzalez became marathon runners on the streets of Santiago.

Maria Sharapova tried rhythmic gymnastics in Los Angeles, while Williams tried out figure skating at her local rink in Palm Beach, Florida.

Sharapova recalled dressing up as a child in the team's white beret and marching beside the television as the Russian team appeared at the opening ceremony.

Nadal, glued to the television as a six-year-old, will never forget Fermin Cacho winning the 1500 meters at the 1992 Barcelona Games. "The last few meters were unbelievable," he recalled.

While playing at The Masters in Shanghai, Nadal snatched a few quick minutes to pose as a footballer down a back alley.

He was the first player to commit to the book and others swiftly followed.

ITF spokesman Nick Imison told Reuters at the launch: "Every one of the men players wanted to be a footballer.

"For the modern-day player, the Olympics is a real career goal," Imison said of the top-ranked players who now need much less persuading to appear at the Games.

The millionaire players, who jet round the world leading a cocooned lifestyle from one five-star hotel to another, rave in the book about the joys of mingling with other athletes in the Olympic village.

But Williams did admit that she and her sister Venus could not stay in the Sydney Olympics village too long in 2000 because "It was crazy... Everyone came over and overcrowded us. There's a lot of excitement."

Federer can perhaps lay claim to the fondest of Olympic memories -- he met his long-time girlfriend and manager Mirka Vavrinec at the Sydney Olympics.

Little wonder that the Swiss champion, who happily signed autographs for three hours at the opening ceremony, said of the Games "I loved every minute of it."