I have to pay my compliment to 力刀, or "Doc" for short, on his excellent posts which help to raise the profile of a certain racket sport among the vast population of overseas Chinese through the popular website where the sports BBS is normally predominated by NBA, a game fitted perfectly into the American psyche for its big and bully characters (or antics).

In Doc's latest post which heaps lyrics on the brilliance and beauty of Martina Hingis as a tennis star, the photo on the bottom right, if I am right, happens to show Hingis and Kournikova kicking a ball together, and unfortunately the picture doesn't provide us the conclusive information as who would be the winner if it were a beauty contest!

I agree with Doc that Hingis is one of most gifted female tennis players of the modern era while Kournikova is merely another one of those players who failed to fulfil the promises although her (Kournikova) lack of success on the court didn't do any harm to her status as men's pin-up. Hingis was a child prodigy with sweet smiles, and I can understand why she has been the belle in Doc's eyes, the mesmerizing shots of cue angles, irresistible charms whilst smiling like an angel in her teenage years, the unblemished innocence and exuberant youth which all helped to capture many men of Doc's generation before her premature retirement.

Personally I am not sure whether it is wise for Hingis to return to the professional tour after 3 year's break. Hingis did OK on her first tournament since the comeback, only being knocked out by Flavia Pennetta (who is she?) of Italy in 3 games at the semi-final stage of the Australian Hardcourt Championships. To be competitive again, Hingis has to be much fitter physically than she is now, which could be a quite tough task for someone who had gone through serious injuries and has been away from the sport for so long.

I have been watching women's tennis on and off for years, though not as closely as Doc! And in my opinion, Steffi Graf, Martina Hingis and Serena Williams have been the best 3 players for the past 20 years. Graf is already a legend, and one of the all-time greats (Graf is a tremendous athlete and she was so fast on 400m that she could get into West Germany's Olympic athletics team!). Hingis is one of the most natural and gifted players, though her career was cut short sadly by injuries. S. Williams could be said the emblem of the modern game, power and athleticism.

However, I consider JHH (Justine Henin-Hardenne) as the most gifted player of the current generation, she has the best one-handed backhand shot in the history of the lady's game and would have won more slams but for the short of inches and persistent injuries. For me, the perfect female player would be Steffi Graf with Justine's backhand, what a lethal combination! Across the sex boundary, the top two male players of the last two decades have to be Pete Sampras and Roger Federer, and not many people would disagree.

Actually, one of my favourite players is Gabriela Sabatini, elegant and stylish, perfect one for beginners to watch and follow in order to learn how to make those shots (as she is not as fast and furious as most of today's players). I would like to think that I learned my backhand top-spin from Gabby.

Unlike Doc, I only play social tennis and never dream of glory on the court at any level due to the cruel combination of physical defects (similar to Doc's) and genuine lack of fitness. I play single-handed with topspins from both sides, quite strong on the backhand side, and rarely use the slice except for volleys at the net. Before I took up tennis, I played good level of table tennis and badminton.

I think people with good badminton or table tennis skills will be able to pick up the game quickly, beginners without any racket sport experience would struggle initially for coordination. The difficult techniques in tennis are to develop a consistent serve, a trusted one-handed backhand drive, reliable volleys, good passing shots as well as having a solid service return. And I have not mentioned the fitness and footwork yet!

Tennis is not a posh sport, and I don't understand why intelligent people such as Doc would like people to believe that tennis is a game for the upper-crust. It is not! It is not in the same league as polo or yachting although tennis has the middle-class tag attached to it for decades. I think the Williams sisters have helped to break the class boundary, it is a game for people of all classes, played mostly by people with crippled knees and crooked elbows just like me!