2004 was a watershed year for Russian women’s tennis. At the French Open, Elena Dementieva and Anastasia Myskina met in the first all-Russian Grand Slam final, before Svetlana Kuznetsova beat Dementieva in the US Open final to become the third straight Russian Grand Slam winner.

In the same year, there were three Russians in the WTA Top 10 for the first time: Myskina (5), Dementieva (6) and Nadia Petrova (9).

There are now an incredible SEVEN Russian women in the Top 20:

No. 4 - Svetlana Kuznetsova

Kuznetsova, the top-ranked Russian women’s player, won her only Grand Slam at the 2004 US Open and finished runner-up in the 2007 US Open and 2006 French Open.

She recently finished runner-up to World No. 2 Ana Ivanovic , at the 2008 Pacific Life Open.

Did you know? Kuznetsova comes from a family of award-winning cyclists, her mother, Galina Tsareva, holds 20 world records and is a 6 time world champion in cycling, and her brother was a silver-medalist at the 1996 Olympic Games.

No. 5 - Maria Sharápova

Sharápova,, 20, has already won 18 career titles. She is ranked 5th and was World No. 1 in 2005 at just 19.

In 2004, Sharápova won Wimbledon at just 17, following this up with the 2006 US Open and 2008 Australian Open

By 2007 she was the world’s highest-paid female athlete.

Did you know? She was voted one of the top 50 most beautiful celebrities by People Magazine in 2005, and was voted hottest athlete by Maxim Magazine in 2006.

No. 6 - Anna Chakvetadze

World No. 6 Chakvetadze , reached her first Grand Slam semifinal at the 2007 US Open.

After winning her 7th career title last year, Chakvetadze remains unbeaten in tournament finals.

Did you know? She was tied up and robbed when her home was burgled in December 2007, her father was badly beaten, and the story made headlines in sports news around the world.

No. 11 - Elena Dementieva

Now 26, Dementieva has not reached a Grand Slam final since 2004, when she finished runner-up at the French and US Opens.

She was part of the first wave of Russian women to sweep tennis over 2003 and 2004, but last year, injury forced her out of the Top 10 for the first time in almost four years.

Did you know? After a shoulder injury in Australia, her serve has been often regarded as the worst in the history of the WTA Tour- she’s been noted to double-fault 19 times in 1 match.

No. 13 - Dinara Safina

Safina, 21, whose elder brother is former World No. 1 Marat Safin, reached two finals, two semifinals, and nine quarterfinals - including the French and US Opens - in 2006.

Safina achieved her career-best ranking of 9th in 2007.

Did you know? She surprisingly dismissed Maria Sharapova from the French Open 2008 by winning the final set 6-2.

No. 17 - Nadia Petrova

At the 2003 French Open, Petrova, , ranked 76th, reached the semifinals - the third lowest-ranking player to ever achieve this.

She reached the same stage in 2005, but has not progressed past the quarterfinals in any of the other Slams.

Petrova’s career-best ranking is 3rd.

Did you know? Both parents were top athletes in their time, her mother won a bronze medal at the Montreal Olympics in 1976 for 400m relay, and her father was a champion hammer thrower!

No. 20 - Vera Zvonareva

Zvonareva reached her career high ranking 9th in 2004 and her first Grand Slam quarterfinal came at the 2003 French Open.

She won the 2006 US Open women’s doubles , and the 2004 US Open and 2006 Wimbledon mixed doubles titles.

Did you know? She is known for her strange emotional breakdowns on the court

With the wave Russian winners in the WTA adding to the excitement of the French Open, the 2008 Wimbledon tennis betting guide provides a thorough break down of the odds and news feeds of the latest tournament action and analysis in preparation of Wimbledon 2008.

The forehand is arguably the most important shot in tennis. It’s typically a player’s most offensive groundstroke. Many top college players and most pros inside the top ten have big forehands.

The forehand is a very complicated shot and this article won’t cover all of its ins and outs. What this article will try and do is teach you the fundamentals, the things every player with a good forehand does, so that you can then pursue those tweaks that will take your shot to the next level. The four steps outlined here may seem simple, but the fact is that most club level players do not execute one or more of these steps properly, but every single pro does.

Pivot and Shoulder Turn

The pivot and shoulder turn motion is how you should begin every forehand you hit no matter what stance you will hit your shot in. You execute this step as soon as you realize you are getting a forehand. This motion gets your body sideways and allows you to move effectively to the tennis ball. To execute the pivot and shoulder turn, pivot with your outside foot (your right foot if you are right handed) and transfer your weight to that foot. At the same time, you need to turn your shoulders sideways while leaving both hands on the racket. It is also very important that you do not use your arm to take the racket back yet; this is a big mistake that a lot of club level players make. The racket will start to come back, however, simply because your shoulders are turning sideways.

Take the Racket Back / Extend Other Arm

Now that you have pivoted and turned your shoulders, you can now use your hitting arm to get the racket all the way back. At the same time, extend your other, non-hitting arm out across your body so that it is parallel with the baseline. This will help you stay balanced and judge the oncoming tennis ball. Once you get into this position your preparation is complete and you are ready to swing forward to your contact point.

Swing to Contact

From the completion of your preparation, do the following three things at the same time: 1) Push off your back foot, 2) Rotate your body back toward the net, and 3) Drop the racket down and swing forward to your contact point. The path your racket travels along during this step will look very similar to the letter “C” when seen from the side. Your contact point will be out in front of your body, about waist high. Your upper body should be facing the net. Also, make sure the strings are perpendicular to the court when you hit the ball.

Follow Through

The point of the follow through is to smoothly decelerate the tennis racket after you make contact with the tennis ball. Based on how you were swinging earlier in the shot, the follow through should be the best and easiest way to stop the racket. In the case of the forehand, extend out in the direction you hit the tennis ball and continue to rotate your body. Once you have extended out, turn your forearm and wrist over together like you were trying to check the time on a wrist watch. Bring the racket across your body in a smooth and relaxed motion.

Hopefully this article has given you a clear picture of the fundamentals involved in hitting a technically sound forehand. Every top pro does these things when they hit, and if you can master these basics you’ll have the foundation upon which you can build a killer shot.

Will Hamilton runs the website Fuzzy Yellow Balls, which offers free video tennis lessons

There are tons of people that are wanting to learn how to play tennis but just do not know where to start. If you are like me, you are just trying to copy people that you see playing, but it is a lot harder that it looks.

I am going to tell you how you can learn how to play tennis without spending tons of money on a trainer, learn the correct way to play tennis from the beginning, and best of all, learn how to play tennis quickly without the frustration just about all beginners go through.

There are tons of methods and programs available that you can use that is designed to teach you how to play tennis. You have the option of trying to learn how to play tennis on your own with no guidance, learning by a personal trainer, or learning with a video guide designed just for the beginner.

The first option of learning on your own is just out of the question if you are really wanting to learn how to play tennis. You will not be able to learn the strokes the right way so that you will be able to become an advanced player down the road. Take it from experience. You will not be able to achieve any success if you try to learn how to play tennis on your own without any kind of instruction from a professional.

The second options is great if you have the money for it. Hiring a personal trainer for tennis lessons can get to be really expensive especially if you plan on learning everything the correct way. I would love to have a personal trainer teach me how to play tennis, but I just don’t have that kind of money.

The third option, using a step-by-step online video instruction guide seems to me to be the best option of the three available. You are able to watch the videos and take them to the court for practice on your time and at your own pace. You just need to make sure that the program you choose offers a true system to get you started playing tennis as a beginner and a program that will teach you the correct way.

There are many programs on the Internet that claim that you will learn how to play tennis with their program, but most of the stuff online are just articles that describe all of the strokes to you and how you should execute them. What good is that going to do you if you don’t have the videos to actually show you how to do these things?

If you are serious and want to learn how to play tennis, I highly recommend getting a program that will teach you step-by-step from day one how to play the right way. It also needs to be a complete guide that will not leave you in the dark and leave you frustrated.

Did you know that most beginners trying to learn how to play tennis give up because of poor instruction and frustration? Learn how you can overcome these obstacles and learn how to play tennis the right way!

How to Play Tennis - Video Instruction Guide

What’s so controversial about the Mississippi State Flag?

In 1817, the United States welcomed Mississippi, into the Union as the 20th state. Mississippi’s first flag, known as the Bonnie Blue Flag was a simple flag design with a blue background and a single white star in the center. The Bonnie Blue Flag was striking in its simplicity and remained Mississippi’s first flag until 1861. But big changes were ahead for Mississippi and their flag.

When Mississippi seceded from the Union in 1861, it was considered to be a separate, stand-alone nation. The Mississippi Secession Convention decided not only to break ties with the Union but also to adopt a totally new flag. Out with the Bonnie Blue Flag and in with the new Magnolia Flag. The new Magnolia Flag featured the Bonnie Blue design in the upper left corner and included a magnolia tree (considered by many to be a symbol of Mississippi) and band of red. This new flag was Mississippi’s first official state flag and flew above the state’s troops throughout the Civil War.

Mississippi’s second state flag, adopted in 1894, would become one of the most controversial flags our country has ever known. Why? Because this new flag included the Confederate Battle Flag, also called the Rebel Flag. The flag committee chose a union square (red background, blue cross, 13 five-pointed white stars) for the upper left corner. This ‘union square’ is often associated with the Rebel Flag of the South and the Confederate Battle Flag. Some are surprised to learn that the 13 stars represent the original 13 colonies, not the states that seceded from the Union. Next to the Union Square, are the stripes of red, white and blue.

More than 100 years later, in response to proposals and protests, Mississippi Governor Musgrove agreed to propose House Bill 524. This bill allowed for the people of Mississippi to vote to decide the fate of their state flag and try to put an end to the controversy. There were 2 flags on the ballot; the current controversial ‘rebel flag’ and an alternate flag where the ‘union square’ was replaced by a blue field with 20 white stars arranged in a circle. The 20th star represented Mississippi being the 20th state to join the Union and was slightly larger and centered among the other stars. In 2001, Mississippi citizens voted overwhelmingly (65%) to keep their original Rebel Flag. Mississippi let the world know that they are proud of their Confederate Rebel Flag roots and don’t want to change a thing about it.

Beth Gabriel is a successful Webmaster and publisher of FlagWave.com. She provides more Flag History and Rebel Flag reviews that you can read on her website from the comfort of your home at 2:00 am!

Who needs a sexy pout? My answer to that question would be almost 100%. Many women and some men desire to have fuller lips because poutier lips make them feel sexier and more alluring. More and more people are willing to spend a fortune on acquiring an ‘Angelina Jolie’ type of pout. Women are not the only ones who desire softer and fuller lips. Men with thin and hard lips portray a steely attitude that tends to put off women and plumping up the lips a bit makes men look more boyish, attractive and younger!

The size and shape of one’s lips are genetically determined. Lips become thinner as one ages because as the man or woman ages the volume of the soft tissue dissipates and thus the tissues shrink. Lips have a generous amount of collagen and Hyaluronic acid which get depleted as one ages leading to thinner lips. Thus the lips become less attractive and vertical lines begin to invade the lips making one look prehistoric! To counter the thinning of lips various modalities of treatments are available.

One of the most common methods of lip enhancement or augmentation is the use of injectable fillers. Various fillers are available, some approved by the USFDA and some not. This method of treatment can be relatively expensive as one needs repeat sessions with a cosmetologist to maintain the fullness of the lips. The earlier fillers needed skin testing to rule out allergic reactions as they were primarily from animal sources. The more modern fillers are all synthetic and do not need skin tests. The most common side effects of these fillers are procedure-related and include bruising, swelling and redness. An alternative to fillers is the use of implants which are inserted into the lips. Some patients complain that their lips become hard and not soft and supple after insertion of implants. Infection, migration of the implants and asymmetry of the lips are common complications. A new technique is fat transfer in which the patient’s own fat from the abdomen, thighs or waist is implanted into the lips. This is a safe modality of treatment but the fats do get absorbed thus deflating the lips eventually. However results are encouraging and patients do appreciate a more natural lip fullness that lasts longer than the fillers.

For patients’ who are averse to surgery or using fillers there is a solution available - Topical preparations. These preparations contain a mild irritating agent like camphor, menthol or niacin which serves to dilate the blood vessels and also cause a mild inflammation that then translates into increased lip fullness. However beware of several fake products that are available which promise you the moon and leave you in a rage! An ideal preparation should be able to do two things very importantly: Moisturize the lips from inside out and stimulate the blood flow. The added convenience of being able to use the lip enhancement cream or gel whenever needed makes them an ideal choice over other expensive procedures like collagen injections or lip implants.

Sexy, fuller lips give you the irresistible smile that you often dream of. So go ahead and make those lips of yours ‘Oh-so-kissable!”

Read more about how you can plump your lips on the go without surgery and fillers at Dr. Rajgopal’s site http://naturalremedies.weebly.com

Feel confident, feel sexy, feel powerful today!
Try one of the trusted products rather than falling prey to fake products and make sure you grab the unbeatable offer!

If you are seriously interested in lip augmentation, then you should make sure you discuss all of your options carefully with your physician. Some of the options are permanent, some temporary, and if you can afford to try the temporary option to see if you like having fuller lips, then this would be a terrific solution. Some people, while wanting fuller lips, simply may not look good that way.

The temporary solution to fuller lips - call it a trial time frame if you will - is to have special substances injected into your upper, your lower, or both lips. This injectable substance will give your lips a fuller, sexier look, but the effect only lasts for a few months. Why? Because your body will slowly absorb the materials until it is eventually gone. Then you would need to have the procedure repeated if you wish to retain the look.

For the longest time, collagen, which is made from the collagen in cow skin, has been the standard substance used in temporary lip augmentation procedures. It lasts about three to four months and all patients will need to have an allergy test done first to make sure they are not allergic to the substance. Fascian, which is made from the outer thigh muscles and taken from cadavers, is another injectable being used. Unfortunately, it is also very expensive and who would want tissue from a cadaver injected into their body?

Artecoll, Metracrill, Aquamid, and silicone oil are manmade substances that are suspended in the collagen extracted from cows. The chemicals are released into the body slowly over a period of time and actually work with the collagen in your own body to give your lips a fuller look. Bio-Alcamid, Argriform and other polyacrylamides are injectables made from polymers that naturally hold in moisture. These polymers are not new to the world of medicine and have been used to keep items wet for decades.

While temporary, these injectable substances give your lips a fuller volume that permanent implants. They also fee more natural to both you and anyone who gives you a kiss. The biggest downside is the frequency in which the lips would have to be injected. A good doctor with plenty of experience and success in injecting a person’s lips is highly recommended.

Some of the same injectable materials - namely the manmade substance - can also be used as implants. Implants can be permanent and reversible, allowing them to be removed in case of complications. Gore-Tex, SoftForm, UltraSoft, and Advanta are all FDA approved for use as lip implants. As with everything, however, risks of this procedure include infection, palpability, lessened mobility, and extrusion. Artecoll, Aquamid, Metacrill, and silicone oil are permanent injectable substances that will give you that Angelina Jolie poof. These, too, have their downfalls, including necrosis, severe inflammation, extrusion, and infection.

Implants and injections can make your lips look fuller and both men and women are undergoing this procedure. Before deciding on lip augmentation, make sure you consult a specialist to make sure that you are a good candidate for the procedure.

For more information on lip augmentation, visit the lip injections site.