Inmemoriam-Gussie Moran

Ten things about 'Gorgeous' Gussie Moran - who died in January at the age of 89 - and how her lace scandalised Britain.

She was, according to Jack Kramer, "The Anna Kournikova of her time - Gussie was a beautiful woman with a beautiful body. If Gussie had played in the era of television, no telling what would have happened. Because, besides everything else, Gussie could play." Wearing a controversial pair of knickers was not all she achieved during her playing career - she was also a singles semi-finalist at the US Open and a doubles finalist at Wimbledon.

Moran's lace-trimmed knickers had the photographers lying on the grass by the side of the court to get the angle they wanted.

The All England Club were concerned about the effect that Moran's pants were having on the Royal Family.

Moran also performed a striptease behind an opaque screen in the press room.

"I was embarrassed, because they were putting so much adulation on the character, 'Gorgeous Gussie'. You know, I was really nothing to write home about. I was a plain girl. But Life magazine ran a picture calling me 'Gorgeous Gussie' and the British picked it up and did a real job with it. Then people would see me and I'd hear them say, 'I've seen better-looking waitresses at the hot-dog stand'. I just went to pieces. Emotionally, I couldn't handle it."

Moran once said she was pleased that Anna Kournikova, Maria Sharapova and others wanted to be glamorous on court: "What's wrong with having a good time with your clothes and your body?" 7.

Moran, according to the Associated Press, "Always said she wanted red carpet in her house, loving the glamour it invoked".

News for Tennis

Melbourne: Novak Djokovic has reinvented himself from bright however delicate talent to set new norms in men's tennis, increasing current standards set by Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

Djokovic experienced a conversion, dropping gluten from his eating methodology and altering his preparing propensities, and following making Serbia score the 2010 Davis Container he assemble one of the finest periods ever perceived in 2011.

Trophies at Wimbledon and the US Open emulated as Djokovic finalized the time of year with a 70-6 score-misfortune record, a pull of 10 competition triumphs and as year-finish number one outside of the norm.

The scores continued flooding the previous year as Djokovic shielded his Australian Open title and arrived at the French and US Open finals, and again finalized the time of year as planet number one.

"You know, Nourished raised it; Nadal matched and raised it; Djokovic, for that forceful small time of time, even raised it," noted American amazing Andre Agassi.

At for the present year's Australian Open, Djokovic's flabbergasting forces of recuperation went into center after he went five disciplining sets opposite Stanislas Wawrinka, however demonstrated no queasy-impacts in his quarter-last with Tomas Berdych.

89-minute obliteration of Spain's David Ferrer in the semi-finals, Djokovic recognized chance to take on the appearance of an expert and entertain the swarm by putting on a show to analyze Henri Leconte.

In Sunday's last, Djokovic wore down US Open champion Andy Murray in four physical sets to score 6-7-6-3, 6-2, securing the first cap-trick of Australian Open titles in 46 years.

Parts of his recuperation programme are a nearly protected mystery, yet Djokovic demands there is nothing untoward.

" And following whipping Murray, Djokovic showed his eminent appeal and largesse by independently giving out chocolates to writers in the press room.

How to Mastering the Two-Handed Backhand

Bend Your Knees One of the most common mistakes players make is that they are too stiff in their legs. It's one of the main reasons many players feel they have no power in their backhand.

Pros, who do use their legs and the ground properly, find the double handed backhand is the more powerful of the two ground strokes.

Approach the ball with a quick succession of small steps rather than the all too common couple of large steps.

Getting a good shoulder turn in that allows the arms and the racquet to go back is crucial and needs to be performed in advance of the ball landing on your side of the court.

Make sure you firmly plant your weight onto your rear foot to set you up for the drive forwards into the ball. Keep Your Arms Relaxed Now that you're in a good loaded position, it's crucial that you keep the arms relaxed.

Just like having stiff legs is a problem, stiff arms will make moving the racquet quickly difficult. Without racquet head speed, you won't be able to generate power.

Please don't underestimate the importance of the preparation for this shot, without this phase in place you will never play the backhand with any authority or power.

choosing racket tips

Tennis Racquets for 2012 based on their intended level.

Heavy enough to add a punch to shots and provide great control 2.

Suited for hitting balls at the baseline and volleying at the net 7.

Each tester was encouraged to try a racquet for as long as it took to get a feel for its particular playing characteristics.

10Rate's editors also awarded the Best Value award for Tennis Racquets to the Head Tis5 tennis racquet.

Receiving an 8 of possible 10 rating, its top features were the "Comfortable grip, lightweight feel, and great control." The review also stated, "Easy to wield and maneuver at only 8.74 ounces strung, it has an enlarged sweet spot and handles shots at all kinds of angles. Even with a slow, compact swing it delivers great power." Additionally, the Best Budget award from the Best Tennis Racquets Reviews went to the Wilson WRT32080U Tennis Racquet.

The review described it as "a beginner's racquet with lightweight yet powerful construction. At just 8 ounces, it's easy to wield and swing, and its enlarged sweet spot guarantees you'll hit even those off-center shots with some power. In fact, if you're used to really whacking at the ball, you may find yourself hitting it outside the fence with this racquet." 10Rate also explained that the Best Budget winner is available for $14.86.

Prince, Wilson, Babolat, and Head all made the Comparison Tennis Racquets Ratings list with multiple racquet models this year.

In addition to product reviews the companies editors write guidelines, buying guides and articles on various topics surrounding each product or service category covered to help educate the consumer.

Nadal warms up

SANTIAGO, Chile - Rafael Nadal arrived at Chile on Friday and will test his injured left knee competing initially next week after sitting out for seven months - the longest break of his career.

The 26-year-old Nadal will go on the nearby coastal resort capital of scotland- Vina del Mar, where he'll play as part of his first event since losing inside second round of Wimbledon in June.

'' Nadal is just about the best clay-court players within the history of the overall game.

''It is often months - seven months - since I've competed,'' Nadal said.

'' Nadal has appearances to create before he opens play, including a meeting with Chilean President Sebastian Pinera, who's going to be a huge fan.

Nadal's first test will come Tuesday in the doubles match with Juan Monaco, accompanied by his opening match Wednesday in singles.

Davis cup news!

New Delhi: India risk losing the Asia/Oceania Group I tie against Korea since the hosts conceded a 0-2 lead on opening next day of debutants V M Ranjeet and Vijayant Malik suffered contrasting defeats inside their singles matches in New Delhi on Friday.

The onus to take India back in the tie was within the 22-year-old Malik and that he fought his heart out but lacked fitness in order to meet the task as they conceded your second singles against Korean # 1 Suk-Young Jeong.

India missed its top players badly, specially Somdev Devvarman, since the slow surface required fit players like him who could wear out their rivals.

Unlike Ranjeet, Malik took the battle in the rival camp, fighting fire with fire.

There was little to separate your lives Malik and Jeong in the opening set but a few unforced errors cost the Indian dear because he dropped his serve in the fourth game to concede a mini lead which stayed with all the Korean anf the husband walked away while using the lead. Watched by country's top woman player Sania Mirza, egged on by legendary team-mate Paes, who was simply waving the tri-colour towards the beats from the Dhol, and cheered on by sparse but vocal crowd, Malik continued to fight for India's cause.

He denied Jeong leverage by saving a breakpoint inside the initial game and earned four break chances inside the fourth game but may convert none.

Malik's forehand error handed Jeong the break and immediately the Indian required a medical time-out to treat cramps.

Jeong served out of the set comfortably and knowning that Indian hopes of levelling the scores evaporated.

A break inside the very first game of third set meant that Malik made his job much harder.

Malik fought valiantly also it was all expected of him.

Earlier, V M Ranjeet a break down straight-set thrashing against Min Hyoek Cho permitting Korea grab a single-0 lead. Going through the slow nature of the surface, rrt had been clear in the first game itself that hanging in and putting more balls inside the lines was all which matter.

Ranjeet did run hard, retrieved a number of balls but Cho hardly missed a trial or point.

Neither the 'Chak De India' song, played in between games nor the Dhol beats may help lift Ranjeet's game as the Indian was down 0-3 within the opening set.

Ranjeet did try and exchange signal of plan B, playing aggressively, approaching websites but nothing worked as Cho went past him while using winners on the either side from the court.

The only real time Cho faltered was in the 4th game plus it was just time when Ranjeet got around the board.

Really the only grace for Ranjeet from the third set was that they could hold his serve, from the fourth game, but otherwise the script was identical.

Cho hit a forehand winner on set point out end Ranjeet's misery.