Tennis Tips: 3 Quick Ways To Read Your Opponent FAST And Win - Tip 1 by Lillian

Remember the Return of Serve They Mess Up the Most

'I hate it when that happens' is something I'm sure you've said that to yourself a million times. You hate it when your opponent keeps winning easy points off you because of your own unforced errors on return of serve, but… now it's YOUR turn to win free points off them…

The key is to test them early. If your serve is developed to the point where you can hit it specifically where you want it to go then you can do a simple testing routine by serving one serve to each of the main three areas - their forehand, backhand and body.

You can use the first service game to do this (you should do it early so you have this information for the whole match) and serve to each of those three spots - wide, middle (body serve) and down the middle. Remember, you're not trying to ace them, it just about concentration and placement and making mental notes that you have up your sleeve to use in play for the whole match.

Simply make a mental note which side is their weaker return or which return of serve they mess up most often. (Also remember the side they hit well too of course)

During your match use this information this way… don't hit to their weaker return all the time or they'll be ready for it, serve to their weaker side when you need to win the point (30-30 or deuce or game point). And for an insider tip, if you watch Federer closely he does this all the time.

The overall point is that it's really important to notice when your opponent makes an unforced error. What I mean is, instead of just having a little party in your head because it's an easy point won, you need to take a few seconds to note what shot they made the error on - then, hit to that place on the court or that side of their body, especially when you need to win a crucial point. (30-30, Deuce, and Game Points)

Happy hitting :-)

Tennis Tips: 3 Quick Ways To Read Your Opponent FAST And Win - Tip 2 by Lillian

Label Your Opponent

"He Never Quits!" When someone says that you know that this type of player you can safely assume gets everything back. That's the type of player are and Brad Gilbert (author of Winning Ugly) calls this style of player a 'Retriever'. Retrievers rarely take risks or go for big winners, they just love to stay at the base line and hit and hit and hit. They just keep going and going and often wear you down and they often win by either wearing you out, or patiently waiting until you make a mistake in a point.

There are many different styles of players out there as you may have noticed, and some names for these types are: Serve Volleyer, Weak server, Fast Runner, Backhand Attacker, Big Server, Left hander etc.

To win more matches know your opponent's game style and label them.

Take some time at home, now if you can, to write a brief game plan for each 'Type' so you are prepared strategically for each of these styles of players.

For example, say you yourself are a Big server and your next match is against a Retriever, your game plan should be something like this: prepare to not rely on aces because Retrievers feed off pace and get a lot back in to play. Your plan would be to take the pace off your serves and shots, going more for placement then power. Also bring them to net often because typically for a retriever the net is an uncomfortable place to be.

Good luck, and get to work on your, all be it simple, pre match player plans, I assure you you'll have an edge on court.

Happy Hitting :-)

Babolat Aeropro Drive Cortex Tennis Racket Review by Luke Scott

Are you thinking of buying the Babolat Aeropro Drive Cortex Tennis Racket? The Babolat is a great racquet whether you are an intermediate or advanced player. Its' sleek shaft design makes this racket great for top spin forehands. Babolat designed this racket for Rafeal Nadal so it naturally is great for baseliners with western grips. However our test crew loved the feel. Our team noticed that their serves got a boost of power and kick from the Babolat Aeropro Drive Cortex tennis racket. While this racket is tailored for Nadal we found it to be extremely multi player friendly. It's unique design gives it increased racket head speed and your game will benefit from this. No matter your USTA ranking this racket is the right fit for you. The Babolat Aeropro Drive has a large sweet spot and delivers strokes with extreme pace and accuracy. It's maneuverability is great for players looking to attack the net and expect a boost in your service game as well. While Roger Federer's racket is suited only for advanced players, this racket is a great fit for multiple skill sets. Not many rackets have that capability. The racket is not light but it is not heavy by any means.

Our testing team found the Babolat Aeropro Drive to be too much stick for beginners yet a lot tend to lean toward it because it is Nadal's racket of choice. I would say that the Prince 03 Speedport is probably more suited for beginners then the Babolat Aeropro Drive.

Retail stores sell the Babolat Aeropro drive cortex tennis racket for around $185 while you can purchase it online at Amazon for $158. Beware however, their are lot of online vendors that may not be trust worthy. The Weekend Warrior staff has done an excellent job of tracking down the best price and place online to purchase the Babolat Aeropro Drive Cortex. Click the link below for an in depth review and links to purchase the racket from our selected vendor.

Overall we ranked the Babolar Aeropro Drive Cortex Tennis Racket as one of the Best Tennis Rackets in 2009.

Tennis - Federer upsets Nadal at the Madrid Open final by Audrey Nolan

Roger Federer beat the Top No. 1 player Rafael Nadal at the Madrid Open, finishing a five-match losing streak against the Spaniard; this was just the second victory of Federer over Nadal on clay surface, the first one was two years ago at Hamburg.

The first victory of the year for Federer was very satisfying according to him, especially on a match where he won 6-4, 6-4 in just two sets. The day before Nadal played a four-hour match against Djokovic that gave him the chance to be on the final against Federer.

This happened just one week before the French Open at Roland Garros starts, which is Federer's biggest goal since it is the only major tournament that he has not win on his entire professional tennis career.

On the other hand, the four-year defending champion Rafael Nadal was a little disappointed about the result and expressed that there was nothing to say about the way he played, it was very simple since Federer was better than him the complete match. Federer ended the winning streak of 33 matches on clay that Nadal had, but even so the Spaniard will be going to give it all at the French Open to try to clinch his fifth consecutive title, and he is planning to face it one step at a time.

"Federer has the potential to win at Paris and at any site in the world. He's showed that throughout his career. But Paris begins with the first round, not the final," Nadal said. "If I was told now that I can play the final against him, show me the paper and I'll sign."

Federer also said that everything is going back on track again for him since he has not yet won a major tournament this year. The Swiss is very excited about going to Paris where the surface is clay, and even though it is not his strongest point, he has demonstrated through his career that he's a great player on any surface; in fact, he has become the only one capable to beat Nadal on clay, who is considered the best player in that surface right now.

At the first set of the game, Federer managed to save two break points before his own break at the ninth game. Then in the second set he broke Nadal's serve in the fifth game after a long hit and went 3-2. Later, on the last game Nadal had another break chance that put the 12.500 spectators that waited for the Spaniard to take the victory at the edge of their seats and shouting for him, but his backhand hit went wide and Federer closed the match with an ace to "spoil the party" for the Spanish crowd, as he joked when receiving the title.

Nadal was not on his best shape for the final. The four-hour match against Djokovic in the semifinals the day before left him very tired and that may have had some negative effect on his game on Sunday, but at the end of the day, the tournament went for Federer. Now, we will have to wait and see how this great rivalry evolves at the upcoming Roland Garros Grand Slam.

Babolat Aeropro Drive Cortex Review: Read About The Babolat Aeropro before you buy by Luke Scott

The Babolat Aeropro Drive Cortex is an incredible racquet. Used by Rafeal Nadal, this racquet is great for advanced players as well as intermediates. The Babolat aeropro drive cortex tennis racquet was rated number one in the Weekend Warrior's Best Tennis Rackets in their latest review.

If you are a baseliner you are going to love the Babolat Aeropro Drive Cortex tennis racquet. It has a large sweet spot and offers accuracy along with it's pace and spin potential. Its Maneuverability was also something that players raved about. The feel got sparkling reviews and not only baseliners enjoyed the Babolat Aeropro Drive Cortex, volleyers did as well.

People who attacked the net found that the pop produced by the Babolat Aeropro drive Cortex gave them tremendous depth on volleys. Not to mention that everyone loved the spin and power their services got by using the Babolat Aeropro drive cortex as well.

Rafeal Nadal's racquet is the Babolat Aeroprodrive cortex. It is no wonder why western grip baseliners love this stick so much. If you are looking to add top spin to your shots the designed shaft is perfect for your game. I highly recommend this racquet to everyone looking for an edge in their upcoming matches. Now this stick is a little pricey at retail stores going for 185 dollars but if you visit the Weekend Warrior review their are links to online vendors who are selling the racquet for 158. That is a tremendous savings. Click Here for the best price found online for the Babolat Aeropro Drive Cortex tennis racquet.

All About Foosball by Ewan Gilbert

You have probably heard the word foosball before and you may even seen a foosball table before, but do you really know what foosball is?

Foosball is commonly called table soccer or table football. It is played on a foosball table which consists of 8 rods with players (figures) attached to the rod over a playing field. Some rods have handles on the left side and others have them on the right side. There is a goal at each end of the foosball table. The players use the the rods with the handles to move their men so that they can score the ball in their opponent's goal. Defense is on your left and your offense is on your left side. Each of the different rods have different spacings between the men to make the game more difficult. The game is played fast and sometimes gets a little rowdy.

The basic objective of a game of foosball is to score the ball in your opponent's goal, while blocking the ball from entering your goal. It most closely resembles the game of football (soccer) which is why it is called table football. Most games are played up to 5 points and whoever reaches 5 points first wins the set. Most people like to play best out of 3 games, so you would have to win 2 sets to win the match.

There are all type of different playing strategies and techniques when it comes to playing foosball. There are endless numbers of different passes and shots that you can learn to improve your game. No too foosball games are alike, which keeps the game exciting. The basic of foosball though, involve serving, passing, catching, shooting and blocking. These are the basic skills that you need to play foosball. As you get more advanced you can learn different shots and passing techniques to improve your game.

Foosball is quite a popular game. There are professional tournaments were people can win hundreds of thousands of dollars. At tournaments, the pros play on exactly the same kind of foosball table that you would play on at home. A typical professional or amateur tournament could involve thousands of players and last up to 3-5 days of play.

Foosball does not always have to be a serious game. It can just be a fun and exciting game that you play with your friends. Since there are not many rules to the game and the objective is quite simple, it makes it an easy game to enjoy while having some friendly competition with others.