Former tennis player of 37 years-old Pete Sampras, competed in London at the seniors tournament that was held last week at the Robert Albert Hall, were he didn’t reach Sunday’s finals due to the fact that he was defeated by the French Cedric Pioline  on Saturday’s match 7-6 (7), 7-6  (5).

But even despite his loss, Sampras was very happy to be back and expressed that all the memories he had from England were very nice and comforting for him. He stated that everything reminds him how good the British people were with him and all the victories he accomplished back in his glory days, in which he won the Wimbledon Grand Slam seven times in eight years.

On this event, Sampras opened his participation against John McEnroe, whom he beat 6-3, 6-4. That gave Sampras confidence on his game again, especially with his 19 aces. However, that was not enough since he lost against Pioline on the semifinals. This was the first match that Pioline could win over Sampras in his whole career. This two amazing players have been always very competitive but Pioline had always a difficult time returning Sampras’ serve, although during this last match he did control it and that was the main reason why he got the victory.

“I always had problems to return his serve,” said the Frenchman. “Suddenly, I could read his serve. I don’t know why.”

Long time ago, when Sampras played professionally in 1997, he defeated Pioline in the Wimbledon final, but things were very different back then. Sampras was known by his high level of competitiveness and that year he started another winning streak of four Wimbledon titles. With those accomplishments, he became one of the best grass players of all time.

Sampras played his last professional tournament back in 2002 at the US Open, where he set the record of 14 Grand Slam titles by defeating in the final his all-time rival, Andre Agassi. After this, he planned not to play again. Nevertheless, he has been coming back to tennis this year but very gradually, first competing in a pair of senior matches and then with an exhibition game against Roger Federer at the Madison Square Garden. In this great event, Sampras declared that he will also be pleased to play against Rafael Nadal sometime next year. He expressed that he may have a chance against the Spaniard, if he plays under the right circumstances, since he has always been very competitive.

Pete Sampras started his professional career in 1988 at the age of 16. His first match as a professional was against Sammy Gammialva Jr. As time passed by, he kept on improving and after a couple of ATP Tour titles early in 1990, he won the first Grand Slam title that same year on the US Open. He finished his professional career in 2002 win an amazing record of 64 Singles titles, including his 14 major titles, 5 Tennis Masters Cups, 2 Grand Slams Cup, 11 ATP Masters Series and 32 ATP Tour tournaments. He also still holds the record of being ranked World No.1 for the most weeks, 286 in total.

We will have to wait to see what Sampras is preparing to for next year and if he decides to keep playing, we hope he can show his excellent skills as he used to do. It would certainly be very pleasant to see more of one of the best players in tennis history. 

Audrey Nolan
http://www.articlesbase.com/sports-and-fitness-articles/tennis-sampras-out-of-the-seniors-tournament-678610.html

This article which you are about to read on tennis psychology has been written because I have been made aware of the interest people have in this subject and this is understandable when you consider how getting a grasp on this will definitely improve your game considerably.

For ease of writing I have referred to He and Man but of course everything I say could just as equally apply to She or woman.

Tennis psychology is nothing more than understanding the workings of your opponents mind, and gauging the effect of your own game on his mental viewpoint, and understanding the mental effects resulting from the various external causes on your own mind.

You cannot be a successful psychologist of others without first understanding your own mental processes, you must study the effect on yourself of the same happening under different circumstances. You react differently in different moods and under different conditions. You must realize the effect on your game of the resulting irritation, pleasure, confusion, or whatever form your reaction takes. Does it increase your efficiency? If so, strive for it, but never give it to your opponent.

Does it deprive you of concentration? If so, either remove the cause, or if that is not possible strive to ignore it.

Once you have judged accurately your own reaction to conditions, study your opponents, to decide their temperaments. Like temperaments react similarly, and you may judge men of your own type by yourself. Opposite temperaments you must seek to compare with people whose reactions you know.

A person who can control his own mental processes stands an excellent chance of reading those of another, for the human mind works along definite lines of thought, and can be studied. One can only control ones, mental processes after carefully studying them.

A steady phlegmatic baseline player is seldom a keen thinker. If he was he would not adhere to the baseline.

The physical appearance of a man is usually a pretty clear index to his type of mind. The stolid, easy-going man, who usually advocates the baseline game, does so because he hates to stir up his torpid mind to think out a safe method of reaching the net. There is the other type of baseline player, who prefers to remain on the back of the court while directing an attack intended to break up your game. He is a very dangerous player, and a deep, keen thinking antagonist.

He achieves his results by mixing up his length and direction, and worrying you with the variety of his game. He is a good psychologist. The first type of player mentioned merely hits the ball with little idea of what he is doing, while the latter always has a definite plan and adheres to it. The hard-hitting, erratic, net rushing player is a creature of impulse. There is no real system to his attack, no understanding of your game. He will make brilliant coups on the spur of the moment, largely by instinct; but there is no mental power of consistent thinking. It is an interesting, fascinating type.

Now before you read any further let me just jump in here and say that I really do hope you are finding this interesting and indeed helpful. I have written this because I do believe that we need to know more about this subject, so, having said that, lets continue.

The dangerous man is the player who mixes his style from back to fore court at the direction of an ever alert mind. This is the man to study and learn from. He is a player with a definite purpose. A player who has an answer to every query you propound him in your game. He is the most subtle antagonist in the world. He is of the school of Brookes.

Second only to him is the man of dogged determination that sets his mind on one plan and adheres to it, bitterly, fiercely fighting to the end, with never a thought of change. He is the man whose psychology is easy to understand, but whose mental viewpoint is hard to upset, for he never allows himself to think of anything except the business at hand. This man is your Johnston or your Wilding. I respect the mental capacity of Brookes more, but I admire the tenacity of purpose of Johnston.

Pick out your type from your own mental processes, and then work out your game along the lines best suited to you.

When two men are, in the same class, as regards stroke equipment, the determining factor in any given match is the mental viewpoint. Luck, so called, is often grasping the psychological value of a break in the game, and turning it to your own account.

We hear a great deal about the shots we have made. Few realize the importance of the shots we have missed. The science of missing shots is as important as that of making them, and at times a miss by an inch is of more value than a, return that is killed by your opponent.

Let me explain. A player drives you far out of court with an angle shot. You run hard to it, and reaching, drive it hard and fast down the side line, missing it by an inch. Your opponent is surprised and shaken, realizing that your shot might as well have gone in as out. He will expect you to try it again, and will not take the risk next time. He will try to play the ball, and may fall into error. You have thus taken some of your opponents confidence, and increased his chance of error, all by a miss.

If you had merely popped back that return, and it had been killed, your opponent would have felt increasingly confident of your inability to get the ball out of his reach, while you would merely have been winded without result.

Let us suppose you made the shot down the sideline. It was a seemingly impossible get. First it amounts to TWO points in that it took one away from your opponent that should have been his and gave you one you ought never to have had. It also worries your opponent, as he feels he has thrown away a big chance.

The psychology of a tennis match is very interesting, but easily understandable. Both men start with equal chances. Once one man establishes a real lead, his confidence goes up, while his opponent worries, and his mental viewpoint becomes poor. The sole object of the first man is to hold his lead, thus holding his confidence.

If the second player pulls even or draws ahead, the inevitable reaction occurs with even a greater contrast in psychology. There is the natural confidence of the leader now with the second man as well as that great stimulus of having turned seeming defeat into probable victory. The reverse in the case of the first player is apt to hopelessly destroy his game, and collapse follows.

Let me finish this article by saying that there is a lot of information available on the psychology of tennis, just waiting for you to dig up. Try your local bookstore, your local library, my blog, and the internet, and you will be amazed at what you can find.

John Savage
http://www.articlesbase.com/sports-and-fitness-articles/tennis-secrets-of-the-professionals-55190.html

any advice is greatly appreciated!

you just hold the tennis racket however you feel comfortable with it, to me there really isn’t a way to grip a tennis racket. over time you’ll just find new ways to hold it. i u se to hold it with my index sticking up but it wrong to do that cause you dont really have power when you hit, over time i just got use to just gripping it with my whole hand.

If you have any suggestions that would help her get good at tennis faster, make the "Lesson" really fun, or help me impress her, PLEASE tell me. (By the way I am 16 and she is 17, I’m telling you this so you don’t give advice thinking I am like 13 or something, haha)

I’m mainly looking for ideas on how to get her better and how I could get her to want me to keep playing with her, and covering these categories
1) Drills / exercises
2) Techniques I should teach her
3) Ways to start the "lesson" without me sounding arrogant, and things I should say to motivate her
4) Ways to show her the techniques, like on the forehand if I should just move her hand to the correct grip and get behind her and drop the ball and swing with her or something
5) Just anything that you think would help me out, thanks

Ok well I guess I will just go down your numbered list.
1) The very first drill you should do with her is to stand beside her and drop feed it for her. Once she becomes comfortable swinging the racket, move on to fed drills from the net. At first just start feeding to her forehand but be careful not to under develop the back hand, as this is a common problem with teenage tennis players today.
2) Even though you said you would like to go fast with the lessons, you cannot rush natural developement. Start her off with a continental grip (neither easter nor western). Once she can comfortably hit the ball back, teach her about spin. Since she must learn how to serve in order to play school matches, teach it slowly and at her discretion. Serving is very frustrating for beginners.
3) To not sound arrogant, just tell her that your happy to help and all the lessons will be at her discretion; if she doesn’t want to hit, don’t hit. To motivate her, explain to her that in three months (summer vacation) she can easily make the team. Keep the prospect of making the team fresh in her mind.
4) At very first you definately should. Don’t do this more than one or two lessons because she may become aggrevated at her apparent lack of progress. Muscle memory also developes early at your age so the actual hand placement should come easily. Also, if you start moving her along and telling her that she’s doing well, she will become more excited about it. My students have a tendency to do so atleast.
5) Be careful to never say anything discouraging or show of your serve too much. This can dishearten the student and make them think that since they started late, they can never achieve your level of play.

These are the techniques I use as a coach. I’ve only been coaching officially for a year but these seemed to have worked when I learned. Good luck with the chick.

Good luck!

While you are a talented tennis player and you doing well on any type of court, your tennis shoes might play an equally critical role in winning you crucial matches. Many professional tennis players will tell you that tennis is all about maintaining your balance while you swing.

A good pair of tennis shoes will help you strike a perfect balance between the control of your shots and power. Hence, you should buy tennis footwear that perfectly matches not only with the anatomy of your feet but also with the surface you play on. That is why professional players use different tennis shoes on different tennis court surfaces such as hard, clay, grass and carpet.

Buying the right tennis footwear is crucial to your winning games. Ill-fitting shoes can result in blisters and even ankle & knee pain. Worst of all, they will fail you in your game. Hence, follow these tips on how to buy your tennis footwear which will be in sync of your feet and help you play your best tennis.

Know Your Foot Type:

You can visit a podiatrist to know your feet type or figure it out yourself at home too. For instance, if the impression of wet feet shows a crescent-shaped foot print with little of no footmark made by your arch, you have a supinated foot. Usually, your shoes tend to wear down faster on the lateral side than your big toe. Moreover, supinated feet are wider and require tennis shoes that offer additional room in the forefoot and toe box. Additionally, you should look for tennis footwear that can provide extra cushioning to compensate for the high arches.

You have pronated feet if your foot impression shows that it`s completely filled in. Due to your flat foot, your shoes tend to wear out before the lateral part. You tennis footwear should give you extra support. Find a pair that has additional stability on the medial side or go for shoes with a mid-cut model.

You have neutral feet if your footprint impression shows a moderate amount or arch. This is most versatile and ergonomically efficient toot type. This being the most coveted foot type, you can play tennis in almost any shoes.

Understand The Shoes Anatomy:

After knowing your foot type, try to understand the footwear`s anatomy. Try different pairs to see that you feel comfortable at the upper against the top of your foot. Also, make sure youy shoes have a durable toecap especially if you tend to drag your toe while you serve. Moreover, you should put special emphasis on extra material along the medial portion of the upper if you have a habit of hitting your forehand from an open stance.

While checking the insole of your tennis shoes, make sure it provides extra cushioning as it is the part where foot rests on. If you are one of those players who are fiercely aggressive on court and give their shoes a good pounding, the midsole of your tennis shoes will wear down faster and you will soon feel the need chuck out those pair and go for a new pair of tennis shoes.

The outsole affects the traction especially when you play on the clay or hard court. Those who play mostly on the hard court should look for tennis shoes with outsoles with a wide variation in the design to get the best traction.

Weigh You Options:

Ideally, you would like your tennis shoes to be as light as possible. However, tennis footwear is usually heavier than other running shoes for the simple reason that tennis shoes have extra cushions and durable outsoles that add to the weight of tennis footwear. Buy two different pairs - one with a lighter weight and the other with a heaver weight. Practice with the heavier weight so that when you play real matches with the lighter tennis shoes, you will feel more comfortable to zip around the court.

Roberto Sedycias

There is so much work and research you have to do before making bets that you can be confident with. You cannot just bet blindly otherwise you will lose your money. Fact.

The First Things To Look At?

First things first, you need to see who is playing who. Check the daily papers or the internet. The easiest place is to check is the bookies or exchange that you will use. For tennis betting I personally use the exchanges as you have the option to trade instead of just having a win only bet.

You need to know your players. Research as much as you can, reading tennis websites, watching tennis as much as you can on the tv and reading the sports pages. The more you know about the players the better as you can evaluate their strengths and weaknesses before making your decision.

The Game, Set & Match: Punter manual has some very good profiles for over 80 of the top tennis players on the tours at the moment and it’s up to date for 2009.

Check The Form

You need to find out which player is in better form. Form is vital in tennis and you need to have a very good method for rating the form. Some players may have been performing better but this could have been in smaller, lower standard tournaments so you must compensate for this.

The best way to do this is to award the players points depending on where they were playing and who against. This will give you a good idea of who is really in form.

Check The Off Court Factors

You need to do proper research concerning the off court factors that can affect the game. I will touch lightly on them here but you have to work hard to find the real diamond bits of information.

Has the player had any personal problems recently? Has the player been training ok? Sometimes you can find information that the player hasn’t been training well and this can have a massive impact on the outcome of their match.

If they haven’t been training well then how can you expect them to perform at the very top level and beat players who HAVE been training well. Tennis betting is more than just picking the best player, even the best players lose and if you do enough work then you can find out which ones will lose due to information that you have dug out but many others do not know. This can be a great edge.

Check The On Court Factors

Has the player been performing at the ideal level of fitness? When did they last play? If their opponent has had more rest than them it can be a massive advantage to their opponent having an extra days rest.

Have they got a niggling injury? Many players will carry on with a niggling injury but it WILL affect their game. Think about it, how often do you see players playing at the top of their game, winning events with an injury. Not very often. Make sure you take this into account before you bet.

There is so much more to take into account and you can learn EVERYTHING in massive detail by clicking the link below.
http://www.gamesetandmatchpunter.com is over 100 pages of real, vital information of how to find winning tennis selections. You need to consider it if you want to be successful at tennis betting.

Carl Upshon
http://www.articlesbase.com/online-gambling-articles/how-to-pick-winning-tennis-selections-736910.html

If all else fails, try soccer or running, since tennis requires active footwork,. Practice throwing a football or pitching a baseball since the Tennis Serve is basically a throwing motion.