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The grip of the dinosaurian in the professional field is more visible at the four major grand slams, Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open as well as Davis and Fed Cups. The ATP and WTA constantly try to bring innovation and adapt to present times while the old drudges stubbornly drag their feet.

At Wimbledon 2007, in the last few days two blatant examples have come to light and it's hard to determine who is to blame, if not all, ATP, WTA, ITF and the Wimbledon officials and rule makers.The injury time out rule:As much as I love grit, I also love fairness, in sports they go hand in hand.

What good does a rule do for a sport where favouritism abounds towards seeded or famous players? Not much, I shall say.

There were times when fitness counted in tennis and cramps were a sign of being unfit to play or the lack thereof sufficient grounds for elimination.

Yesterday, Serena Williams in her match against Daniela Hantuchova, was unfit to play and should have been disqualified."The umpire, the trainer, Hantuchova and several other official as gathered round as the injury break became longer, and a tearful Williams shrieked in agony when ice was applied to her calf." Of course I understand Serenas pain and suffering, but who is being treated unfairly? Daniela Huntuchova, who is fit and ready to play.

What happened thereafter is irrelevant, all the heroics from Serena for me amount to nothing, because the rule was stretched out unfairly in her favour, when she should have been eliminated on the spot.A three-minute time out is a three-minute time out, period. Any time past the three minutes is allotted a point penalty until final and irrevocable elimination. That was not done and a visibly upset Daniela Hantuchova who dearly paid for it with a bunch of unforced errors, poor play and lost a match she had won on fitness and by the rules!

As players are often punished and fined for on court bad behaviour, in a case like this shouldn't Hantuchova have the right to sue the Wimbledon organization and it's officials for breach of the rules and ask for damage compensation? Yes, she should.

The next blatant and alarming case of poor rules is the situation where obviously injured players continue playing and go on to win matches to disgracefully default in the next round;

There was a time when tennis players respected the game, the tournament, sponsors and what makes them stars, the public. Correct me if I am wrong, but I can remember that in more then one occasion "bad boy" Jimmy Connors at match point in his favour graciously came to the net and shook hands with his opponent, because he knew the nature of his injury would deter him from giving his best in the next round (a semi or a final). Bravo Jimmy! You were a fierce competitor and at times obnoxious to say the least, but you had your priorities right, the game, the tournament, sponsors and your public, first!

This makes me go forwards to Tommy Haas who was obviously injured beyond repair for the next round against Roger Federer, but that rather chose to beat Alexander Tursunov and a few hours later declared forfeit, because of the injury sustained against the Russian player. Do you think Tommy at match point against Tursunov did not know he would not be able to play the next day? Of course he knew, tennis players like all fine tuned athletes know their bodies well especially under injury, but Tommy chose to be selfish, cash in the quarter final prize money, did not give a hoot about the tournament, his fellow players, the sponsors or the public and bailed out!

Some may call it the luck of the draw, but put yourself in the skin of Juan Carlos Ferrero or Janko Tipsarevic that will have to battle it out on court and through yet another mentally gruelling rainy day, while a highly favoured Roger Federer is watching the events from the comfort of his bedroom suite. To add insult to injury the winner of the confrontation in all likelihood will have to play two five set matches in consecutive days, while Roger Federer is fresh as a morning lettuce having played his last match on Friday 29.06.2007.

Well let us call it the luck of the draw.

Sunday 08.07.200, well I thought I was over with the default and injury time outs goings on at Wimbledon, but I was totally wrong. Young Novak Djokovic even though he had had enough treatments for an army during his match against Marcos Baghdatis he decided to go ahead win the match on the fifth set and then forfeit during the Wimbledon semi-final match against Rafael Nadal. Some may say at least he tried, I say not good enough, he should have walked over at match point against Marcos Baghdatis and let him play the semi.

Then we have the final between Venus Williams and Marion Bartolli, where Bartoli asks for a medical time out and after 4 or 5 minutes play interruption, Williams asks in turn for a medical time out for adverse credit remortgages Shouldnt there be a rule, when a player asks for a medical time out, if necessary, the other player will have to ask for a medical time out at the same time allotted to the opponent?

As a side comment I must just say, some talented players are just not putting enough physical work outside the court to allow then the fitness necessary to perform at the level they want and need to. All these excuses that the tennis schedule is to tough are just nonsense. Coaches and trainers have to stop treating such players like prima donnas and set up conditioning programs that level up and surpass the competition needs in question.

What amendments should be made to the rules?

I suggest the following:

- If a player wins a round under injured conditions and the Tournament Doctor later on declares him unfit to play the next round match, he should forfeit his prize money for the round and allow the losing player to play in his place.

- In these conditions all prize money and WTA or ATP points should be the ones from the previous round.

- To avoid situations like Novak Djokovic combativity rule should be also enforced

Any other suggestions are welcome.

Copyright Tenniscruz.com. All rights reserved.

Srgio Cruz is an ex # 1 National Champion, Davis Cup Player from Portugal and former Coach Jim Courier ATP World Ranking # 1 href="mailto:cruz@tenniscruz.comcruz@tenniscruz.com
www.tenniscruz.comhttp://www.tenniscruz.com For comments or ideas about this article please email the author Sergio Cruz

Many athletes I work with on a daily basis hold themselves back with a comfort zone. A comfort zone is a mental barrier that limits what you think you are capable of accomplishing and is really hard to shake.

A comfort zone is a problem whenever an athlete is playing better than expected or is in uncharted territory when competing. One of my tasks as a mental coach is to teach athletes how to break free of comfort zones, so they can peak perform more often.

A comfort zone starts in your own mind based on preconceived notions or expectations about what is and what is not possible to achieve. It is formulated from prior experiences in your sport.

The common example is a golfer who wants to break through a scoring barrier (predetermined or expected scoring range). She has an idea that she will shoot between 82 and 86 on most days, for example, and this forms her *comfort zone.*

If she is performing better than her own expectations and has a chance to break 80, for example, this can cause her to feel anxious, protect her score, or focus too much on results and outcomes.

My experience is that an athlete, when playing with a tentative mindset, worries too much about making mistakes and blowing a good performance in the making.

But comfort zones apply to most other sports too, and to our lives in general! When a team feels they are playing *over their heads* such as winning a game they expected to lose, they tend to become anxious and play with a defensive or protective mindset.

The bottom line with comfort zones - athletes lose their composure! Whether you are performing better or worse than you expected, the result is a feeling of discomfort (anxious or frustrated), hence the term comfort zone.

So what are the keys to performing without the mental handcuffs of a comfort zone?

The first step is to recognize the signs that a comfort zone might sabotage your mental game. My biggest concern is that a comfort zone might limit you when you are on a run or performing at your peak because it causes you put on the mental breaks.

The top 3 signs of a comfort zone in action are:

-You get nervous, anxious, or afraid when playing better than expected.

-You *sit on your lead* and play defensively or afraid to risk.

-You are in *protect mode* and do not want to blow your lead.

The next step is to learn mental strategies for overcoming your comfort zone so you can perform with composure and confidence.

Want to learn simple, proven mental toughness skills that you can apply to competition? male enhancement my free online mental training newsletter, Sports Insights Magazine - for athletes, coaches, and sports parents:
www.peaksports.com/free_newsletter.phphttp://www.peaksports.com/free_newsletter.php
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dr. Patrick Cohn is a master mental game coach who work with professional and amateur athletes, sports parents, and teams of all levels. Visit www.peaksports.comhttp://www.peaksports.com for more information.

If you have a Bachelor's Degree, mortgages for bad credit are interested in making some fast money from the comfort of your own home, online tutoring might be the job for you. Online tutoring is done through something called an electronic whiteboard. The whiteboard is accessible through your online tutoring company's website. Through the whiteboard, you can communicate with the students you are tutoring and work on uploaded assignments together. Then, if necessary, your student can call or e-mail you if further help is needed. If you are confident in your tutoring abilities, you can always set up your own website and try to make even more money.

To get started with your own online tutoring business, you need both a functional message board and chat room. You can use free sites for this, but there are some disadvantages- low bandwidth and the propensity for these sites to post advertisements. The adverts can be annoying and the bandwidth issues mean that you may only be able to tutor a small number of students, as the website can't handle more traffic. Once you grow your business, you might upgrade to a paid site, one that is specifically set up to cater to tutoring.

You will need to market your business through advertising. You can do this online as well. Be sure to know the rules and regulations regarding advertising before you begin, especially if you plan something like a mass e-mail campaign. Just remember, there are always students in need of help with their class work, and working online is fast and easy. You will be making easy money in no time!

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The sales approach to employ in the SMB accounts depends upon flat rate data recovery number of factors, such as the culture of your organization, the offerings you sell, and what the customer needs from you in the sales process. Knowing when to use a solution sales approach versus a consultative sales approach is a dilemma that confronts many sellers and directly impacts your odds of success.

Consultative selling can require many months to close a sale. Typically many people are involved in the process, across multiple organizations and multiple levels from both your and the customer's organization. A discovery process is employed to fully understand the customer's needs. There may be an on-site presentation of the findings, and conceptual recommendations for next steps to determine the right solution. Relationships are built with the customer contacts throughout the sales process, and the need for references to close the final sale evaporates.

Solution selling can require a long sales cycle, however it often takes only a 2-6 months. Fewer people are involved, with the seller engaging a technical specialist to assist with configuring or designing the solution. The sale frequently can be closed with only one or two versions of a proposal followed by the customer checking your references.

The culture of your organization

If the culture of your organization is one to watch revenue on a monthly basis, and hold sellers to monthly quota targets, a longer consultative process is difficult. While the eventual sale is generally larger than with a solution sale, it does not always deliver consistent monthly revenue. A solution sales approach, with its shorter, more simplified sales cycle will deliver more consistent monthly revenue.

If your culture values customer relationships across the customer's organization, a consultative approach will foster those relationships by demonstrating the value in working with your company. The discovery process, combined with the involvement of multiple people and the conceptual recommendation approach, has customer contacts involved in crafting the final solution, elevating the final proposal to their own recommendation.

The consultative sales approach works very well in the SMB segment and sellers quickly find themselves becoming trusted advisors to their customers through the discovery process. Continued follow-up in the solution sales approach will allow sellers to build strong relationships with their customers over time.

The offerings you sell

Many sellers believe the offerings you sell dictate the approach to use. This is only partly true. Complex solutions and high-dollar products do require a more consultative approach and a longer sales process. The customer needs more information to choose the right solution, justify the expenditure, and gain agreement to move forward, especially if it is a large expenditure in the SMB space. These solutions often include services, or may be service-only solutions.

Less complex solutions, or low-dollar products and services, which the contact understands with relative ease, are strong solution sales opportunities. The customer often knows what he or she is looking for and will be frustrated if you attempt to engage in a consultative, "let me help you figure this out" sales approach.

Evaluate the customer's need for information and education and let it guide you as to which approach to use.

What customers need from the sales cycle

If you are selling to an SBM contact who fully understands the technical intricacies of his needs, he has probably done his research prior to meeting with you. This type of SMB buyer knows what he wants and the type of solution he needs to solve his specific issue. He only needs you to provide product information, demonstrations, customer references, and your implementation process. For this SMB contact, the solution sales approach works well. Make suggestions. Provide options. Make it easy and let him buy his way.

Where the consultative sales approach works best is when you are working with business executives focused on business results. Often these are owners or partners. They value brainstorming together and recommendations for different solutions and services to consider. They appreciate your guidance throughout their buying process, and hearing how other customers have addressed similar challenges. They value long term relationships, and probably see their solution as one that will include multiple phases and have a financial impact on the business' results.

You can employ multiple sales approaches in your SMB accounts. Stay flexible and choose the approach that best matches the needs of your customers and your organization.

Kendra Lee is author of "Selling Against the Goal" and president of KLA Group. Specializing in the IT industry, KLA Group helps companies rapidly penetrate new markets, break into new accounts and shorten time to revenue with new products in the Small & Midmarket Business (SMB) segment. Ms. Lee is a frequent speaker at national sales meetings and association events. For more information, contact the company at +1 303.741.6636 or href="mailto:klee@klagroup.comklee@klagroup.com or visit www.klagroup.comhttp://www.klagroup.com