American Brian Vahaly is getting used to life in the fast lane on the ATP circuit. The 23-year-old from New Jersey climbed more than 300 places in the ATP Entry Ranking last year to finish in the Top 100, and as he prepares to take on fellow countryman Eric Taino for a place in the quarterfinals of the Kroger St. Jude in Memphis, he took time out to answer your questions.

Q Who are your closest friends on the tour and what do you guys do to relax (i.e. when you're not in the weight room or the courts)?

BV: My closest friends are Andy Roddick Jan-Michael Gambill, Cecil Mamiit, Jack Brasington, guys that we travel with. It's tough, you can't do much on the road. Andy brings his Play Station, so we all play that in his room, go to dinner, you can't real do to that much when you're out of the city, so we just hang out, play games, play cards, I guess a lot depends on what city we're at. We try and take our minds off tennis and they're great guys that I have a lot of fun with.

Q. Do you play or follow other sports besides tennis? - Ting

BV: I follow mainly College sports. I went to the University of Virginia, so I follow ACC basketball and college football a lot too. I'm originally from Atlanta so I watch the Atlanta Braves a decent amount when they're on TV but I pretty much stick to College sports.

Q. Why are young Americans having such a hard time winning outside of America? - Brian K.

BV: It's a good question. I don't know. I know a lot of the young Americans, particularly Andy and James I know have struggled a little bit but the rest of us haven't really had that many opportunities, so for me I'm just looking forward to going out there and playing. It's different. We as Americans can be a little bit spoiled because we've got so many tournaments here, so it's easy to just play here and have a home town crowd and not really have to travel too far. It's a little bit of different circumstances, you're dealing with different cultures, a little bit of everything and I guess it takes you out of your routine a little bit. But I don't think it will be a long-term problem. You eventually get used to it and a lot of it is because we're new to the tour. I guess you're more comfortable at home.

Q. What do you consider to be some of the biggest contributing factors to your success in climbing up the rankings on the ATP tour? - Erich S. Anspach

BV: My coaches have really helped me a lot. Scott McCain and Jerry Baskin hae been really helpful in showing me the next level and trying to get me there. Trying to do an equal amount of strength and conditioning work off the court, I have a great guy in Torrey Hawkins back in home in Atlanta. Also just trying to work out with the best players. I've maintained relationships with Andy Roddick and Jan-Michael Gambill, working out with them and just asking the guys and not being afraid to see what they're doing and try and emulate that and learn, you've got to humble yourself and go out there and try and pick up tips from the best guys you can.

Q. Is it scary to travel outside the country to tournaments now, given the world tension? - Heather & Robin Goldin.

BV: It's more scary for our parents than it is us I think. For us, it's more of a routine now, playing week in, week out and hopping on a plane. I would probably say I'm more nervous now than I ever have been but it's your job and you've got to keep going after it and try not to worry about that stuff. Obviously we all read the news and know what's going on but you can't let it run your life.

Q. I know that many players try to have an ultimate goal for what they want their year-end ranking to be. Do you have a goal for where you hope to end your year or are you hoping to just keep on improving your game as you have been? - Katherine

BV: You always want to keep on improving, but there's always a side f you that wants to keep an eye on the ranking. It would be realistic for me to try and get into the Top 50. My main goal for two years after college was to get into the Top 200, so I'm already well beyond where I thought I would be. Most people told me it will take about three years, so I'm still adjusting and still trying to learn how to play at this level, play consistently, but my coaches have kind set that as a goal to look to for November and December.

Q. What's the difference between you now and you two years ago in tennis? - Tom B

BV: I've got a little bit stronger, taking a few more chances out there, try and go for a little bit more. I've worked a lot on my serve and it's just experience. You're seeing such a higher level of tennis, the balls are hit so much harder and it just takes a while to adjust to that. For me, I just feel like I'm hitting the ball bigger and more consistently. I'm not as threatened or nervous in the settings, like when I played Agassi in the first round of a Grand Slam on ESPN, I'm not as nervous as I once was.

Q. I am an aspiring 20-year-old tennis player who practices every week. I was wondering if you had some advice for what I would need to do in order to take my game to the next level? - Adam J.

BV: The best thing to do is always go out there and play matches. It's easy to go and practice but you've got to see how you perform when the pressure is on and assess what the problems are and find a coach that will help you fix it. Pay as much attention to the things you need to fix on the court but also the mental side of the game because the more you improve, the more that plays a bigger and bigger role. So just ry and find a reputable coach in your area and work with that.