August 12th, 2009 was a bright, sunny Wednesday morning in Canada. Since I was working at the Rogers Cup, I had admission to the grounds and had specifically asked for the day off so I would be able to go check out all the professionals’ warmups. It was really a loaded schedule with the finest ten competing during the day.

At 11 that morning, a friend and I headed over to Court 4 where the world’s top ranked player, Roger Federer, was due to get there at within 30 minutes. Already filled with about several hundred people, there was very little room to move.

As the time approached, the place was filled with fans who eagerly waited to get a glimpse of the best to ever play the game. With the sun soaring at 95 degrees fahrenheit, we watched him warm up and we saw him hitting balls. To be honest, it was pretty boring and was supposed to go on for 2 hours.

Past world No. 1 Rafael Nadal will face Fernando Gonzalez during the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open later today.

After a diversity of issues that he might not be fully recovered from a knee wound that kept him sidelined for the majority of of the summer, he has proven critics mistaken with some great play during the first four rounds of the tournament.

Nadal’s knee injury required him to miss Wimbledon in July, a tournament that he won in 2008. Unable to defend his finals and having missed some other events, Nadal lost his world’s #1 status to Roger Federer, who took advantage of Nadal’s hiatus with a win at Wimbledon.

Nadal additionally lost the world’s number ranking to Andy Murray, however recaptured it with his 4th round win at the US Open two nights ago.

Nadal has seemed to be performing at near his top echelon in this tournament as he outdid Frenchman Gael Monflis in four |sets in the 4th round, looking as quick as ever during the match.

Seriously, why are things this way?

When Steffi Graf dominated the tennis world tennis lovers did not enjoy it. When the Williams sisters had been squashing anyone on her path to the championship, fans did not enjoy it. And currently when titles are up for grabs? Supporters do not appreciate this.

The majority admit that the Williams duo tower over the competition the majority of the time. Although injuries and diminished non-Slam tournament schedules spell they currently play against one another before the title match. Although again allow us to bear in mind that just a year or 2 ago the above-mentioned gripes about this frequent battle in the championship and their governance over the rest of the athletes.

So now we have Dinara Safina holding the top place in the ranks and the US Open seeds. And what do they indicate? She hasn’t earned it because she hasn’t yet won a Grand Slam (also she’s gone down in a couple grand slam title recently.) Although she’s making slam finals and she is quite entertaining along the way, in the tennis world and in her personal life.

The Russian Anna in tennis who gets the most attention is Anna Kournikova, but there is another Anna from Russia whose tennis is on the same level, whose looks are more than pleasant, and whose story is more inspiring. Anna Chakvetadze has been a strong presence on the tennis season these past few years, and worked through much adversity during her childhood to make the pro circuit.

After a few years of struggling to make her mark at the professional level, Anna adjusted to the professional life and game in 2006. She capped the year off with titles in Moscow and Guangzhou (China). To keep herself grounded and maintain her strong family ties, she spends a lot of time with her family.

Having your family nearby can be a great thing for such a young talent, especially when the tour can be so demanding with travel and photo shoots.

Sometimes called ‘Rafa,’ Rafael Nadal is a local of Spain who has made a massive impact in the world of tennis.

Born June three, 1986 in Manacor, Mallorca, Rafael Nadal is the son of Sebastian and Ana Maria Nadal. His sister, Maria Isabel, is five years younger than Rafael and is his only sibling.

Standing 6’1′ and weighing 178 lbs, Rafael Nadal changed into a professional tennis player in 2001 after having played since four years old. Fans shouldn’t let this young age trick them as Rafael Nadal nabbed his first championship at only 8 years old.

Under the guidance and teaching of Toni Nadal, his uncle, Rafael Nadal commenced learning to play tennis extraordinarily early in life as is evident from his early championship.

Toni, who remains Rafael’s coach, is a particularly crucial part of this kid’s success.

In 2005, he won 11 titles and also captured recognition as the ‘Most Improved Player’ for 2005 as named by the ATP.

The Russian Anna in tennis who gets the most attention is Anna Kournikova, but there is another Anna from Russia whose tennis is on the same level, whose looks are more than pleasant, and whose story is more inspiring. Anna Chakvetadze has been a strong presence on the tennis season these past few years, and worked through much adversity during her childhood to make the pro circuit.

After a few years of struggling to make her mark at the professional level, Anna adjusted to the professional life and game in 2006. She capped the year off with titles in Moscow and Guangzhou (China). To keep herself grounded and maintain her strong family ties, she spends a lot of time with her family.

The proximity of Anna’s family during her ascent on the WTA tour has always been beneficial to her. Additionally, Chakvetadze embraced her beauty by posing for various model shoots and magazine spreads. She’s also a big fan of sports cars.

The Russian Anna in tennis who gets the most attention is Anna Kournikova, but there is another Anna from Russia whose tennis is on the same level, whose looks are more than pleasant, and whose story is more inspiring. Anna Chakvetadze has been a strong presence on the tennis season these past few years, and worked through much adversity during her childhood to make the pro circuit.

Spending a few years earlier this decade to make an impact on the pro scene, Chakvetadze finally came into her own in 2006. Having won tournaments at Moscow and in China at the end of the year, Chakvetadze made an impact while remaining close with her family at the same time.

The proximity of Anna’s family during her ascent on the WTA tour has always been beneficial to her. Additionally, Chakvetadze embraced her beauty by posing for various model shoots and magazine spreads. She’s also a big fan of sports cars.

You should be prepared to play ping-pong just like you are mentally prepared for any other sport. It helps if you prepare early on days before the game starts by studying your opponents and finding out what their strengths and weaknesses are. It is not entirely necessary to prepare like that though, as you can determine what their strength and weaknesses are simply by being the “Explorer”.

Your main tactic as the Explorer, is to get a feel for your opponent by sending them at many different types of shots. By being an effective explorer, you must use all kinds of shots once the game starts, such as blocks, loops, drives, counter-drives, spins, pushes, and other shots.

By doing this, you will be able to adjust quickly and determine what shots are your opponent’s weakness. You should also hit the ball at various speeds and try out different kinds of serves.