Now that the year is almost through, it seems like an excellent time for some reflection and wrap up on all things tennis from 2008.

In women's tennis, for example, Alla Kudryavtseva made history in Wimbledon when she revealed the true reason behind wanting to beat Sharapova in the second round of the tournament. Her words exactly? "It's very pleasant to beat Maria. Why? Well, I don't like her outfit."

The terrible tale of Guillermo Coria continues to linger. He was trying hard to recover from an arm injury that had him feeling pretty messed up mentally. He went 2-8 at the elite level, though, and is still ranked outside the top 500. He did at least manage to return in the Grand Slams, but otherwise had a disappointing season as a result of his injury.

The biggest prospect to emerge from the year 2008 in tennis was probably Ernests Gulbis, a baby faced Latvian with a huge forehand and an even bigger serve, who threw a real scare into Andy Roddick and Rafael Nadal during the U.S. Open championships. Once his game is refined, he will truly be a formidable force.

While Dominik Hrbaty may be in the twilight of his career, he continues to be entertaining. He surprised the masses at the Wimbledon tournament this year by sitting down next to Federer, an old buddy, and asking if it was okay to take the seat.

For the second straight year in a row, Ivo Karlovic who is regarded as a gentle giant managed to lead the men's tour in aces, which was no surprise to most. What was surprising, however, is that he failed to hit a single ace in a match against Gael Monfils during the Monte Carlo Masters.

The epic battle between Nadal and Federer was interesting this year, perhaps most interesting than previous years. There was an epic match between the two this year when Nadal blew two match points in the fourth round and served second in the divider, giving a chance for Nadal to win in the fifth set. Nadal managed to prevail, but both athletes gave their best game.

Another up and comer in tennis right now is Sam Querrey, who won a title in Las Vegas this year, and who also managed to battle Nadal over the span of four sets at the United States Open. He even went on to extend Nadal to another four sets on clay at the Davis Cup semi finals in Spain only two weeks later, proving that it was no fluke.

Maria Sharapova unfortunately spent most of the latter half of the season injured, but she had a good season before she injured herself. Though she isn't one of the favorites right now, she did prove her capabilities on the court against numerous opponents including Jelena Jankovic, Justine Henin and Elena Dementieva.

• Athlete Profiles: Andre Agassi Andre Agassi has become a fixture in the tennis world, and thanks to a series of high profile relationships, sponsorship deals and a great will to win, he has become an indelible fixture of pop culture as well. His gold medal win in the Olympics, and the sheer number of......
• Athlete Profiles: Chris Evert Chris Evert is perhaps one of the most well known female tennis stars who shot to popularity in the early 1970’s and rode the rocket well into the 1980’s. Known as a power player who was also incredibly consistent, one look at her record tells you just how good she......
• Andy Murray Already on Great Start Defending St Petersburg Title Andy Murray has already made an excellent start to defending his St Petersburg title and could be back on familiar territory with champagne as early as Sunday. However, some days you simply have to make do without the models ad the champagne. Murray, for example, celebrated his win back at......
• In Tennis, Hewitt Targets an Event in Sydney as His Official Return From Injury Lleyton Hewitt, regarded as a former world number one tennis player in the entire world is planning to make his grand, official return from hip surgery very soon. His intention is to make his grand return from this injury at the Sydney International tennis tournament which is slated to begin......
• Rafael Nadal to Pull Out of Masters Cup Giving reasons of fatigue due to his knee injury as the reason for the surprising action, the world's number one tennis star Rafael Nadal has decided to withdraw himself from the Tennis Masters Cup. The athlete stated that the decision is a very difficult one for him to make, not......

• Monte Carlo Ceiling Fans Home Lighting

The former World No. 1 tennis player Maria Sharapova plans to be 100 percent healthy by the upcoming tennis season, and assures fans that she will be poised to defend her Australian Open title as soon as January rolls around. According to Maria Sharapova's agent, Max Eisenbud, Sharapova has a set timeline for her recovery, and her recovery is going as planned. The Russian tennis star is slated to be hitting the court again on January 7, which will mark her first match back. This will be an exhibition match in Hong Kong.

It is believed that by entering back into the tennis season on January 7, Maria Sharapova will be able to keep herself in good shape so that she can slip right into the first grand slam of the year, which will begin on January 19 in Melbourne Australia. The Melbourne, Australia grand slam on January 19 is an important one for Maria, as it will involve depending her Australian Open title, and possibly even regaining her role as the World No. 1 tennis player. Sharapova previously held the World No. 1 ranking, but lost it when she had to bow out of the 2008 season early because of a shoulder injury.

Sharapova has been shelved for nearly five months now, after having torn her rotator cuff in a much earlier tournament match. She continued to play with the injured shoulder between April and July, unaware of the level of damage that had been done. It was an MRI scan that finally indicated that the injury was more than met the eye, and when it became apparent that Sharapova would be unable to heal while touring, she bowed out of numerous tournaments including the Beijing Olympics in China, and the U.S. Open. After bowing out from a number of tournaments because of the stress of the injury, Sharapova finally designed to bench herself for the remainder of the 2008 year.

The injury that benched Maria Sharapova forced her to slip in the World Tennis Association's standings, so she ended the season as the World No. 9 tennis player, rather than the World No. 1 that she represented before her injury. On the tour this season she did manage to win a total of three titles, the last of which came on April 13 in Florida. She finished with a 32 - 4 record, and earned almost $2 million dollars despite a disappointing finish to the season.

Before her romp in the Australian Open where she gained the title that she intends to maintain, Sharapova also took wins in the United States Open in 2006, and the Wimbledon tournament in 2004. Fans of Sharapova are prepared to cheer her through a productive season, as Maria seems ready and willing to jump right back into tournament play following several months of rest and recovery.

• 5 Easy Ways to Improve Your Tennis Game While many people are under the impression that learning tennis is nearly impossible, there are actually quite a few incredibly easy tips that can drastically improve your game. While these tips may not turn you into a star over night or land you at Wimbledon, they will help solid players......
• Athlete Profiles: Chris Evert Chris Evert is perhaps one of the most well known female tennis stars who shot to popularity in the early 1970’s and rode the rocket well into the 1980’s. Known as a power player who was also incredibly consistent, one look at her record tells you just how good she......
• Review: Complete Conditioning for Tennis Complete Conditioning for Tennis is aimed at tennis players, tennis instructors and even coaches in strength and conditioning as well as other professionals in fitness. The new edition of this book is designed to provide a complete and total foundation of conditioning for the sport of tennis, including both training......
• Tips for Beginning Tennis Players If you are interested in learning how to play tennis, there are a few things you need to know before you get started. By having the proper foundation in this sport, you can be assured that you’ll learn properly and be able to play better as a result. Although this......
• Carole Caldwell Graebner Remembered Carole Caldwell Graebner passed away at the age of sixty five following a brief but courageous battle with cancer on November 19, 2008. Carole Caldwell Graebner served as a chair of the United States Tennis Association's Fed Cup Committee. Graebner was born on June 24 in 1943 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,......

• Tretorn Balls Tennis Discount Tennis Gear
• Junior Racquets Tennis Discount Tennis Gear
• Strings Tennis Discount Tennis Gear
• Pressurized Balls Tennis Discount Tennis Gear
• Youth Shoes Discount Tennis Gear

Carole Caldwell Graebner passed away at the age of sixty five following a brief but courageous battle with cancer on November 19, 2008. Carole Caldwell Graebner served as a chair of the United States Tennis Association's Fed Cup Committee. Graebner was born on June 24 in 1943 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and was raised in Santa Monica in California. She was well known and regarded as a fixture in the American Tennis community and has been such for many years. When she was playing, she was ranked No. 1. in the country in women's doubles tennis, and she teamed with Nancy Richey in the 60s to take the women's doubles championships in 1965 in the United States Championships, which are now known as the U.S. Open. She also went on to take the same championship in the 1966 Australian Championships which is now the Australian Open.

She also managed to take doubles titles in 1965 and 1966 in the U.S. Clay Court Championships, and was a finalist in singles in the US championships in 1964. She took a Gold medal at the Pan American Games in 1963 and took two singles titles at the Pacific Southwest Championships. Between 1961 and 1965 and then again in 1967 she was ranked in the top 10 in the United States.

Carole Caldwell Graebner was a part of a stellar group of young women players that came from California in the latter half of the 1950s to represent the United States in tennis tournaments all over the world. She was part of an undefeated Junior Cup team including a number of top notch players including Karen Hantze, Barbara Browning Rohland, Billie Jean King, Pam Davis Elliot and Cathy Chabot Willette as well. She also went on to join the U.S. Federation Cup team in '63, and played college tennis with Billie Jean King at California State University in Los Angeles. Even long after her playing career had ended, Carole Caldwell Graebner continued to remain very active in the American tennis community, serving as a chair of the Fed Cup Committee for the United States Tennis Association (USTA), and as a vice chair of the Wightman Cup Committee, of which she used to be a team member. In 1989 she received a USTA Service Bowl Award, and in 1991 she won the Sarah Palfrey Danzig Award. She also did some work as vice president of Tennis Week, a magazine, and did television and radio commentary for the sport.

Carole Caldwell Graebner leaves behind a daughter and son, as well as four grandchildren, a son in law and a daughter in law. According to Billie Jean King, they met early and were life long friends. Carole Caldwell Graebner is known for being a driving force behind the Fed Cup, which is an international competition for women's tennis teams.

Photo Credits: (AP/ File 1965)

• It's a Problem with the Wiring When it comes to watching the whizzing ball as it hits the bounds line, referees will always misjudge the position of the ball. It isn't the feeling of the players unhappy with the referees' calls; it is the findings of the researchers from the University of California, Davis. The scientists......
• 7 Things to Look for When Picking the Perfect Tennis Shoes One of the most popular questions that brand new tennis players ask has to do with how to choose the perfect tennis shoes. With the right tips and tricks, choosing the right tennis shoes should not be difficult by any means. Tennis shoes are some of the most important pieces......
• Tennis Profile for Roger Federer Roger Federer was born on August 8, 1981, and is a Swiss professional tennis player that is currently ranked No. 2 in the world behind Rafael Nadal. He was previously the World No. 1 ranked player for a record number of weeks, 237 weeks to be exact. He took the......
• Are Your Tennis Shoes Ruining Your Game? One of the biggest problems facing beginning players is right under their nose, and they may not even realize what may be holding them back from success. The shoes you wear on the court can have a big impact on the way that you play the game and if you’re......
• Thanks to Roddick Everyone Wins at China Open This weekend’s China Open was a competitive test of skills for the players that participated and although Andy Roddick won, at the end of the day, it was the people affected by the earthquake early this year that took home the gold. As a gesture of goodwill, Roddick donated $25,000......

• Saratoga Country Club The Saratoga Country Club is located in: Saratoga, CA Phone: 408-253-0340   Website: http://www.saratogacc.com/ Course History: The country club offers a Par 72 course complete with numerous other features, including six tennis courts, a swimming pool with a lifeguard and a clubhouse. Guests are permitted, please see the pricing schedule......
• The Harmonica in American History The Harmonica was not originally developed in America, but rather saw the beginning of life in Germany. However, the Harmonica has a rich history in North America, and contributed heavily to the history of music in America as well. Hohner began to manufacture harmonicas in 1857, and shortly after this......
• Sunday Roundup - Fats, Weight, and Stigmas Welcome to another edition of the Sunday roundup. This issue has a lot in regards to weight-loss, weight-gain and fat. Enjoy! The Fitness Health Network presents: Fat Man Unleashed asks Rise in Obesity Related to Quick Weight Loss Diets? Lazy Man and Health talks about Chewing the Fat. Speaking of......

• 2000-Now United States Lobby Cards Movie Memorabilia Entertainment Memorabilia
• Possessions United States Stamps
• Sheets United States Stamps
• Red Balls Tennis Discount Tennis Gear
• Shuttlecocks Badminton Discount Tennis Gear

In an important season ending tournament, Venus manages to advance but unfortunately has to leave her sister, Serena, behind. Venus Williams recently managed to defeat her sister Serena in a set of three matches, with scores of 5 - 7, 6 - 1, 6 - 0. The match occurred on Thursday, and allowed Venus to reach into the semifinals for the WTA Tour, as this battle was one of the season ending matches for the season ending Sony Ericsson Championships which were held at Doha in Qatar. Not only did Serena have difficulty defending her title in this epic match against her older sister, but she also went on to call this match her worst of the year and her worst game during the entire tennis season.

According to Serena Williams, she just could not manage to keep the ball in play. She felt like everything was off during her last tennis match of the 2008 season, and was not ashamed to admit it following the match. The wind played a large part in some of her hits, as she swung to meet the ball, but found it going in the wrong direction or receiving a little too much influence from the wind. She ended up conceding the final point after assuming that the ball would be going out, and referees determined that the point should be replayed but Serena was already aware that she would not win, and acted accordingly.

Venus, the older system of Serena Williams is 3 - 0 in round robin play within a tournament that is featuring the top eight players on the court this year. Serena Williams managed to drop down to 1 - 1, but she was still given a chance to advance in the tournament should she manage to beat Elena Dementieva, which would have been the last match if she lost. Dementieva has been having an excellent season, beating Dinara Safina with 6 - 2 and 6 - 4, which was enough to eliminate her from the championships all together. The topped rank player Jelena Jankovic also managed to secure a semifinal spot in the tournament by defeating another top ranking player, Svetlana Kuznetsova with 7 - 6, 6, 6 - 4.

At the end of the day, Serena admits that she treats her sister like any other opponent on the court, and while she has not been pleased to lose to her sister, she accepts that her sister has been playing amazingly well all season long and certainly deserved to move on to the semifinals at the end of the tournament. Venus has been performing well this season, taking numerous titles and winning against many of the top seeded players of the season. She is expected to end the season well, and her sister supports her in that. While Venus works to prepare herself for the end of season tournament, Serena will focus on training for next year, where she may be able to outperform her sister in the next season.

• Carole Caldwell Graebner Remembered Carole Caldwell Graebner passed away at the age of sixty five following a brief but courageous battle with cancer on November 19, 2008. Carole Caldwell Graebner served as a chair of the United States Tennis Association's Fed Cup Committee. Graebner was born on June 24 in 1943 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,......
• The Debate Over Oversized Tennis Rackets One of the hottest issues in tennis is the use of oversized rackets. While there are a handful of pros in the circuit that actually use them, by far, they are most often used by inexperienced players that are just getting started in the game. There are some benefits and......
• Athlete Profiles: Billie Jean King Billie Jean King would undoubtedly have been remembered as a star tennis player but it was her match against Bobby Riggs that permanently cemented her in the hearts and minds of millions. That divisive “Battle of the Sexes” got the world charged up about tennis and when she went on......
• Complete Conditioning for Tennis (Part of the Complete Conditioning for Sports Series) This is a book and DVD package that will allow you to take your game to a completely new level. If you want to train to play just like the pros are playing by conditioning each fitness component in your lifestyle to meet the physical demands associated with tennis, then......
• Top Spin 3 for Nintendo Wii The Nintendo Wii system has become very popular among sports fans, simply because of the advanced functionality of being able to actually swing instead of using a controller with many of the games. Top Spin 3, one of the latest tennis games for Wii has skyrocketed to success, so we......

• Match Holders Tobacciana Collectibles

World No. 1 tennis player Rafael Nadal has been injured, and it is not sure right now whether or not he will be able to recover in time to return to the game for the Davis Cup final in Spain. Being held in Argentina, the Davis Cup would be a big tournament for Rafael Nadal to play in, especially as he seeks to uphold his World No. 1 title which he just recently claimed from his long time tennis rival, Roger Federer. Unfortunately, his uncle who is also his trainer just recently spoke out about his injuries and it is apparently doubtful that he will be recovered enough by the end of this month to handle the tournament.

Nadal is suffering from tendonitis in his right knee. Because of the unexpected injury, he was forced to pull out of the Masters Cup in Shanghai which just began on Sunday and was meant to be the season ender for him. He was also forced to retire out of the Paris Masters quarter final tournament where he was playing against Nikolay Davydenko just last month.

According to Toni Nadal, Rafael Nadal's trainer and uncle, Rafael's inclusion into the Davis team is going to be difficult because the tests have not been going very well. He spoke to the Marca newspaper ahead of the November 21 through 23 tie in Mar del Plata and indicated that while Rafael is healing, he is not healing at the pace that is required for him to come back this season, and the idea of him coming back in time for the Spain Davis Cup is slim to none at this point. According to Toni Nadal, there are very few options available to Rafael right now because he is feeling pain on the court and is having difficulty making it through the tournament matches.

According to a statement that was recently released on Rafael Nadal's official website, the Mallorcan would be traveling to Barcelona on Monday in order to undergo some more tests. According to Rafael, his body needs to be able to do its work and regenerate on its own time according to doctors, so he seems keen on sitting out a few tournaments if it means coming back better than ever when the tendonitis has subsided. Right now Nadal is attributing his tendonitis injury on what he views to be an overloaded ATP tennis calendar. He is a recent French Open and Wimbledon champion and has had an incredible year, becoming the World No. 1 in August of this year and finally beating out his long time tennis rival in the process. Rafael's primary hope right now as he recovers from his injury is that he is able to return to the courts before he loses his World No. 1 title.

Photo Credits: 1

• Current Tennis in Review: Federer, Ivanovic, and Djokovic There's still a great deal to keep an eye on this fall, even though the Grand Slams have gone. Here are some of the current happenings, including the whereabouts of Roger Federer. Federer's Return? Federer decided to bail out of the Stockholm Open, raising quite a few eyebrows, especially when......
• Tennis Profile for Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal was born on June 3, 1986. He is a Spanish tennis player that has been regarded as the No. 1 ranked men's tennis player in the world since August 18 of 2008. He has already won five Grand Slam Singles titles and won the 2008 Olympic gold in......
• Andy Murray Tennis Player Profile Andy Murray was born on May 15, 1987 and is a professional tennis player from Scotland who also happens to be the highest ranking player in Britain at current. He officially broke into the ATP Top 10 on April 16, 2007, and reached a career high of No. 4 ranking......
• Andy Murray Already on Great Start Defending St Petersburg Title Andy Murray has already made an excellent start to defending his St Petersburg title and could be back on familiar territory with champagne as early as Sunday. However, some days you simply have to make do without the models ad the champagne. Murray, for example, celebrated his win back at......
• Tennis Season Wrap up Now that the year is almost through, it seems like an excellent time for some reflection and wrap up on all things tennis from 2008. In women's tennis, for example, Alla Kudryavtseva made history in Wimbledon when she revealed the true reason behind wanting to beat Sharapova in the second......

• Time Travel Romance Books
• Time Travel Romance Audio Books
• World Cup Soccer Soccer Cards Sports Collectibles

Giving reasons of fatigue due to his knee injury as the reason for the surprising action, the world's number one tennis star Rafael Nadal has decided to withdraw himself from the Tennis Masters Cup. The athlete stated that the decision is a very difficult one for him to make, not only because of the sheer magnitude of the event but also because he is disappointing his fans in China as well as the organizers of the tournament, who have given so much to him in the past. He will be using the time to recuperate before the Davis Cup Final in Spain.

The decision came midway during his match, competing against Russian star Nikolay Davydenko in the Paris Masters. Nadal, who is 22 years old, is a five time major tennis champion, holding reigning victory in Wimbledon, French Open and the Olympics. He has surpassed even the master Roger Federer in the ATP rankings and is the year end number one for 2008. He has a long time rivalry with Roger Federer, and finally surpassed him for the World No. 1 ranking in August of this year.

In Shanghai, the eight player Master Cup is going to be held, with Frenchman Gilles Simon taking Nadal's place. Roger Federer, who holds the US open championship title and is the Wimbledon and French Open's runner up, will also be playing in this tournament. The other players will be Aussie Novak Djokovic, U.S. Andy Murray, Davydenko, Andy Roddick, AussieJo-Wilfried Tsonga, Juan Martin del Potro, and Frenchman Gilles Simon. Roger Federer is the current reigning champion of the Masters cup tournament, having won the last two tournaments consecutively as well as having attended the last four. That said, a recent back injury may remove Federer from the tournament as well, and then it would be anybody's game.

Rafael Nadal originally began to pursue the game of tennis at the age of 12, in 1996. It wasn't until 2002 that he was able to win his first ATP match, and he was the ninth to do so before he turned 16. 2003 brought Nadal two different Challenger titles and placed in the top 50. In 2004, Nadal first stood across from Roger Federer on the court, winning in straight sets, but then had to miss most of the remainder of the season due to an unexpected ankle injury. From September, Nadal possesses a 77-9 win-lose record and is the victor of eight straight singles tournaments. He also achieved his career best, 32 game winning streak. Over his career, Nadal made it to championship finals 46 times, securing 31 wins since 2004. Stepping away from the upcoming tournament may cause a stir with Nadal's rivalry against Federer, but because Federer may also be stepping back from play this season, it could be anybody's game.

Photo Credit: 1

• Venus Williams Changes Focus The Wimbledon championship's top female champion Venus Williams has withdrawn from the upcoming Wimbledon open in order to prepare for the another match that is coming up. The match in question is the $ 4.5 millions Sony Ericsson Championships, and this is the season ender for the WTA Tour that......
• Mastering The Mental Game of Tennis Tennis is a game that is played primarily in your mind, even though your body is running back and forth on the court. Many of the top players in the game have devoted volumes to the subject of mental tennis, but these tips can be distilled down into a few......
• In Tennis, Hewitt Targets an Event in Sydney as His Official Return From Injury Lleyton Hewitt, regarded as a former world number one tennis player in the entire world is planning to make his grand, official return from hip surgery very soon. His intention is to make his grand return from this injury at the Sydney International tennis tournament which is slated to begin......
• Head ATP Master Titanium Pro Racquet Racquet - Head ATP Master Titanium Pro Racquet Grip Sizes Available - 4 1/4, 4 3/8, 4 1/2 Coordinating Bag? - Yes Head Size - 710 cm^2 or 110 sq. inches Beam Size - 25 mm Weight - 280 g or 9.8 oz unstrung Weight - 10.4 oz when strung......
• Welcome to Tennis Racquet Racket As I work to take the bubble wrapping off the website (err... restring my racquet) please take a look around the Tennis Store. ......

• Tennis Womens Shoes
• Women Shoes Discount Tennis Gear
• Eyeguard Racquetball Discount Tennis Gear
• Junior Racquetball Discount Tennis Gear
• Racquets Tennis Discount Tennis Gear

Andy Murray has already made an excellent start to defending his St Petersburg title and could be back on familiar territory with champagne as early as Sunday. However, some days you simply have to make do without the models ad the champagne. Murray, for example, celebrated his win back at home by doing his washing, walking his dog and enjoying a nice ice bath after winning the Madrid title this week.

Mr. Domestic was back on a match court in the first round, taking commanding straight sets wins over his opponent Serbian Victor Troicki. It has already been indicated that this will be an extremely busy finish for him and a profitable season overall. Murray played a total of five matches and won a Masters shield in Madrid, but he still needs to score five more additional wins if his intention is to defend his title at St. Petersburg, which can be done in the Paris Masters next week and the eight man Masters cup next month in Shanghai. But this is exactly how Murray would want it, contesting and taking victories in as many different matches as possible. There is still potentially a lot of good tennis that can be played before 2008 is through, and potentially a lot more cause to spray some champagne around.

Since he lost in the quarter finals to Rafael Nadal in Wimbledon, Murray has taken wins on 20 of his last 23 ranking matches. These numbers would have appeared even better if he had not gone out in the first round of the Olympic event in Beijing. Murray is already the only Briton in professional Tennis to take four singles titles in a single season. Still, it will be interesting to see if he is going to be able to keep his momentum up, especially in Europe and then in the Far East next month.

Since his loss in Wimbledon recently, Murray has already taken wins against Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. If he can win an additional Masters shield or perhaps the Masters Cup, then that would ultimately set him up to go into the close season before everyone reconvenes in January for the Australian Open tournament. Against Victor Troicki from Serbia, Murray was a 6-3, 6-3 winner. Next he will move on to contest against Ernests Gulbis, a redheaded tennis star that is regarded by many as one of the most dangerous players on the tour. Murray has experience battling Gulbis, having bested the Latvian tennis pro in three sets during the Queen's Club pre-Wimbledon tournament, however he damaged a thumb during the match which forced him to withdraw from his next match which was against Andy Roddick.

That match back in June seems like ancient history now, because Murray has gone on to turn the 'Big Three' competition into the 'Big Four' by joining Djokovic, Nadal and Federer as one of the true elite in tennis this season.

• Tennis Profile for Roger Federer Roger Federer was born on August 8, 1981, and is a Swiss professional tennis player that is currently ranked No. 2 in the world behind Rafael Nadal. He was previously the World No. 1 ranked player for a record number of weeks, 237 weeks to be exact. He took the......
• According to Uncle, Nadal is Doubtful to Return to the Davis Cup Final World No. 1 tennis player Rafael Nadal has been injured, and it is not sure right now whether or not he will be able to recover in time to return to the game for the Davis Cup final in Spain. Being held in Argentina, the Davis Cup would be a......
• Andy Murray Tennis Player Profile Andy Murray was born on May 15, 1987 and is a professional tennis player from Scotland who also happens to be the highest ranking player in Britain at current. He officially broke into the ATP Top 10 on April 16, 2007, and reached a career high of No. 4 ranking......
• Rafael Nadal Lives Up to Expectations, Takes Win in Madrid The top seed, Rafael Nadal, lit up the second day of the Madrid Masters on the second day by overcoming Latvia's Ernests Gulbis with 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, allowing him to move on to the third round. With a total of eight titles so far this season, including Wimbledon, Paris and......
• Racquet Review- Wilson K Factor Six One Tour 90 Racquet - Wilson K Factor Six One Tour 90 Length - 27 inches / 69 centimeters Head Size - 90 square inches / 581 square centimeters Weight - 12.5 ounces / 354 grams Balance Point - 12.375 inches / 9pts Head Light Construction - 18 mm Straight Beam Composition -......

The top seed, Rafael Nadal, lit up the second day of the Madrid Masters on the second day by overcoming Latvia's Ernests Gulbis with 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, allowing him to move on to the third round. With a total of eight titles so far this season, including Wimbledon, Paris and the Olympics, Nadal gave a sold out crowd exactly what they were looking for in his opening match which is following a three week pause. This World No. 1 player has only once been able to claim the home trophy, and this was three years ago. Since that match he has stalled twice during the quarter files, preventing him from claiming the title again.

Nadal last played leading Spain past the United States into a November Davis Cup final against Argentina in Mar del Plate. Gulbis, who is 20 years old, saved a match point in the final game after Nadal was able to take late control by taking a break in the third match.

Nadal's next move is to play the 15th seed, a French player named Richard Gasquet. Richard Gasquet recently defeated Mardy Fish, an American player at 6-7 (3-7), 6-4, 6-3.

Nadal wasn't afraid to say that he had to fight hard through to victory. He was quoted as saying that the match was very tough, but also happened to be an important one for him to win. He found a way to fight back in the second set, allowing him to win the important games. "I pulled out my best game when I had to." He told reporters.

Andy Murray took full advantage of Italian player Simone Bolelli in a 6-0 2-1 match. Bolelli is currently dealing with a shoulder injury and retired out of the second round match owing to that problem after Andy Murray thrashed him in the first two rounds.

The US open finalist who hails from Scotland spent an extended amount of time at home during the autumn after he lost to Roger Federer in New York. He only dropped a single point on serve in the first set.

The fourth seed is next going to play Marin Cilic from Croatia, a winner over the thirteenth seed from Spain; Fernando Verdasco, 6-2, 6-3. Murray was quoted as saying "I was really happy with how I served and moved," Though he also said "He stopped for a shoulder problem, but he seemed to be hitting his serve fine to me," in response to Simone Bolelli's retirement from the match in the second round.

Cilic and Murray played as juniors and in Davis Cup, but they have never played at the APT level. Murray acknowledges that the match will be tough for both players, as both are playing well so far and have never gone head to head professionally.

Giles Simon continued the Madrid misery for American James Blake, keeping him without a career win following a defeat of 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 in the second round. In addition to five total losses in Madrid, Blake also received embarrassment last April following a debut in Barcelona, leaving him trailing even further in the points race, especially with the Masters Cup coming up next month.

• Complete Conditioning for Tennis (Part of the Complete Conditioning for Sports Series) This is a book and DVD package that will allow you to take your game to a completely new level. If you want to train to play just like the pros are playing by conditioning each fitness component in your lifestyle to meet the physical demands associated with tennis, then......
• Andy Murray Already on Great Start Defending St Petersburg Title Andy Murray has already made an excellent start to defending his St Petersburg title and could be back on familiar territory with champagne as early as Sunday. However, some days you simply have to make do without the models ad the champagne. Murray, for example, celebrated his win back at......
• Athlete Profiles: Serena Williams The youngest of the famous Williams sisters, Serena was born in 1981. She and her sister have made history many times and currently, Serena is ranked number 1. They frequently play against one another and finding someone that can beat either one of them is no easy task. Serena has......
• Andy Murray Tennis Player Profile Andy Murray was born on May 15, 1987 and is a professional tennis player from Scotland who also happens to be the highest ranking player in Britain at current. He officially broke into the ATP Top 10 on April 16, 2007, and reached a career high of No. 4 ranking......
• Athlete Profiles: Anna Kournikova Although many only look at Anna Kournikova’s beauty, citing the fact that she’s never really done much in the sport of tennis, she is an accomplished player that has a remarkable attitude about the game and an innate talent. Born in Moscow in 1981, Kournikova began training as a tennis......

• Player Piano Musical Instruments
• Richard Petty Racing-NASCAR Fan Apparel Souvenirs Sports Collectibles

Lleyton Hewitt, regarded as a former world number one tennis player in the entire world is planning to make his grand, official return from hip surgery very soon. His intention is to make his grand return from this injury at the Sydney International tennis tournament which is slated to begin in January. He announced this plan of his on Tuesday, October 7, 2008 and has no apparent intention of going back now. Hewitt seems to know that 2009 is going to be an excellent year for him and his tennis game despite his injury and subsequent surgery, because he is already planning to take Australia by storm during the Australian Opening in 2009.

Hewitt has won the warm up event four times in the Australian open to date. Following a disappointing showing during the Beijing Olympics which occurred in August, Hewitt decided to focus on his hip recovery and his recovery from surgery. According to Hewitt, this recovery since the August Beijing Olympics has been going well. The twenty year old tennis player has stated numerous times that he is really excited about the Australian summer, and he appears to be prepared to bring his A game to the courts.

"It is an exciting time for me;" he told reporters, "I am already feeling refreshed, reinvigorated and excited about the challenge ahead. Sydney is a happy hunting ground for me. Some good hard matches will certainly help me in my preparation for the 2009 Australian Open."

Lleyton Hewitt is now ranked as number 67 in the world. He may have dropped significantly in world ranking since his injury and his disappointing performance at the 2008 summer Olympics in Beijing, China, but this is clearly not the direction where he intends to take his tennis career. Down but not out, Lleyton Hewitt is showing that he is serious about returning to the game of tennis with all of his strength, hoping to significantly improve his rank in the world, especially during the summer Australian Open in 2009 which seems like a promising place to really make a stand.

Lleyton Hewitt's career may not be where he wants it right now, but this twice grand slam champion is not down and out, however. This is because his drive to return from his hip surgery just in time for the Sydney International will surely show that he is more than ready to return from injury to dominate the tennis courts once again, especially during the 2009 Australian Open which is slated to begin in the summer.

Photo Credit: 1

• Tennis Player Profile for Lleyton Hewitt Lleyton Hewitt was born on February 24, 1981 and is a former World No 1 tennis player that hails from Australia. He became the youngest male ever to obtain a number 1 ranking in 2001. He has numerous career achievements, awards and wins, including a 2001 US Open win, a......
• Tennis Profile for Roger Federer Roger Federer was born on August 8, 1981, and is a Swiss professional tennis player that is currently ranked No. 2 in the world behind Rafael Nadal. He was previously the World No. 1 ranked player for a record number of weeks, 237 weeks to be exact. He took the......
• Review: Go Play Tennis: Read it, Watch it, Do it by Rolf Flichtbeil Go Play Tennis: Read it, Watch it, Do it is by Rolf Flichtbeil, and is part of the Read it, Watch it, Do it series of books. What makes this a unique book on the subject of tennis is the fact that it is a fully integrated book that incorporates......
• Athlete Profiles: Pete Sampras Pete Sampras was born in 1971 and grew up in the Washington DC area of the United States. He is considered to be one of the most gifted male players in the sport and has one numerous titles, medals and cups throughout his long and illustrious career. Although he is......
• Andy Murray Tennis Player Profile Andy Murray was born on May 15, 1987 and is a professional tennis player from Scotland who also happens to be the highest ranking player in Britain at current. He officially broke into the ATP Top 10 on April 16, 2007, and reached a career high of No. 4 ranking......

• Sunday Roundup - Fats, Weight, and Stigmas Welcome to another edition of the Sunday roundup. This issue has a lot in regards to weight-loss, weight-gain and fat. Enjoy! The Fitness Health Network presents: Fat Man Unleashed asks Rise in Obesity Related to Quick Weight Loss Diets? Lazy Man and Health talks about Chewing the Fat. Speaking of......
• Player Profile: Greg Norman Greg Norman, arguably one of the most famous golfers in the 1980’s and 1990’s, was born in Australia in 1955. His nickname, The Great White Shark, referred to his heritage, his white blond hair and his killer instinct on the course. There were few that could top Norman when he......

• Shoes Badminton Discount Tennis Gear
• Tretorn Balls Tennis Discount Tennis Gear
• Goggles Squash Discount Tennis Gear
• Wilson Balls Tennis Discount Tennis Gear
• International, Cultural, Ethni By Type Dolls Dolls Bears

There's still a great deal to keep an eye on this fall, even though the Grand Slams have gone. Here are some of the current happenings, including the whereabouts of Roger Federer.

Federer's Return?

Federer decided to bail out of the Stockholm Open, raising quite a few eyebrows, especially when you consider what his explanation was. He pulled out of a relatively small event, which isn't exactly uncommon, but this recently anointed five time United States Open champion is claiming to be healthy following a brief run in with Mono, and now it isn't sure when he intends to return.

He only had a minuscule chance of regaining the top 1 ranking from Rafael Nadal, which may have factored into his eventual decision to bow out of the Stockholm Open. Realistically, he needed to be able to win titles elsewhere in consecutive weeks, including Sweden, Madrid, Paris and Basel. It seems like his bailing out has something to do with simply being burnt out. No one knows exactly how long this break of his is going to last, but when it comes to a career player like Roger Federer, it could be as few as five days before he is ready to go again. However, at this point in his career, Masters Series and Masters Cup tournaments probably do not make that much of a difference, but rather he is going to want to aspire toward being ranked No. 1 and beating Slams.

Ivanovic's Trials

Many males would gladly say that they watch the Serb all year round even if they are not all together interested in Tennis. Ivanovic seems to need to earn some W's in order to restore her confidence in the game. She's entering into next weeks' Tier 1 Kremlin Cup with a 5-5 record, which is surprising to many of her fans. She spent much of the summer struggling with an injury to her thumb, but since the start of September she claims to be pain free, and yet she is continuing to lose many of her matches. Her latest defeat has come from the Chinese battler Zheng Jie following a three hour slugfest at the China Open.

Djokovic's Responses

Novak Djokovic was a crowd favorite in 2007, but today he is viewed more as public enemy number 1, especially at the United States Open last month. He drown significant criticism from Andy Roddick and Tommy Robredo who believed that he feigned injury during the match. He was also booed by crowds at the Arthur Ashe Stadium after attacking Roddick verbally. However, in his first tournament since he appeared at Flushing Meadows, he reached the finals in the Thailand Open and endeared himself to the crowd by performing a traditional Thai greeting for them.

He was tipped by many to finish at No. 1 at the end of the year after a maiden Grand Slam crown, but there is little chance of this happening now. His defeat to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the Thailand open final means that he hasn't claimed a single title crown since the early part of May, though he is hoping for a better finish this time around than last, because he last lost five in a row, all of which were straight set matches.

Photo Credit: 1

• Tennis Profile for Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal was born on June 3, 1986. He is a Spanish tennis player that has been regarded as the No. 1 ranked men's tennis player in the world since August 18 of 2008. He has already won five Grand Slam Singles titles and won the 2008 Olympic gold in......
• Carole Caldwell Graebner Remembered Carole Caldwell Graebner passed away at the age of sixty five following a brief but courageous battle with cancer on November 19, 2008. Carole Caldwell Graebner served as a chair of the United States Tennis Association's Fed Cup Committee. Graebner was born on June 24 in 1943 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,......
• Athlete Profiles: Andre Agassi Andre Agassi has become a fixture in the tennis world, and thanks to a series of high profile relationships, sponsorship deals and a great will to win, he has become an indelible fixture of pop culture as well. His gold medal win in the Olympics, and the sheer number of......
• According to Uncle, Nadal is Doubtful to Return to the Davis Cup Final World No. 1 tennis player Rafael Nadal has been injured, and it is not sure right now whether or not he will be able to recover in time to return to the game for the Davis Cup final in Spain. Being held in Argentina, the Davis Cup would be a......
• Venus Williams Changes Focus The Wimbledon championship's top female champion Venus Williams has withdrawn from the upcoming Wimbledon open in order to prepare for the another match that is coming up. The match in question is the $ 4.5 millions Sony Ericsson Championships, and this is the season ender for the WTA Tour that......

• World Cup Soccer Soccer Cards Sports Collectibles
• Open Salts Tableware Housewares Kitchenware Collectibles