The USTA just announced former No. 1 Carlos Moya of Spain is withdrawing from the 2009 U.S. Open because of an injury to his foot.
Moya has been out of action for the majority of this tennis year. His ranking recently took a skid, taking him out of the top 100.
I bet that hurt… Ouch! Also, Kei Nishikori of Japan was atop the alternates list for the previous year, but he won’t participate because

Though the drill factor that we discussed in last week’s tip is incredibly effective in getting you to really focus in on every single shot you hit, going toe to toe with another player on the other side of the net is one of the greatest ways improve every aspect of your game.
You can work on your serves, ground strokes, volleys, and overheads etc. without the risk of getting too mechanical.
Because let’s face it, if you’re doing a forehand drill or one where it involves coming to the net to finish off a volley, you sometimes, get tempted to cheat so to speak. Cheat? Yes, cheat. I know you’re probably saying, “I thought that you could only do that in a match, when you’re…