The Whole Delivery

Tactics for Sharapova/Lisicki Sharapova: 1) Stay steady, stay calm..... 2) ....But this isn't a counterpuncher, and you will need to serve aces today 3) Miami match may mean nothing, but......it may mean something to you upstairs, and to her. 4) Look at Sasha for strength, and don't let the crowd get to you. 5) Breathe Lisicki: 1) You play with no pressure, you are on a magic journey 2) First serve, and be occasionally bold on the 2nd serve 3) Drop shots, and get her off the baseline. Make her move up and down instead of just side to side 4) Make it more physical than mental 5) The crowd will be behind you, and get into Sharapova's head. Make her nervous and doubt herself. I say Lisicki in straights I think. She is playing with house money, and the magic. And Sharapova's form has been overrated this tournament, as she looked shaky against Robson before the nerves got to the 17 year old.

For Kvitova 1. You got through your bout with adversity (2nd set against Pironkova) , and you past it with flying colors. 2. Keep that lefty magic serve going 3. Defend as well as you can 4. You are the more talented player, but she will throw everything at you For Azarenka 1. No holding back on your first serve.....104 mphs and more, and then change it up 2. Be an all court player.....Be Bold, use everything including coming to net 3. Stay mentally calm as you have been in this tournament 4. Play with no pressure.....You are the clear underdog.

From AELTC Tactics for Lisicki-Bartoli For Lisicki: 1) You are still playing with house money. Try not to feel nervous 2) Test Bartoli's fitness 3) Don't be scared to come to net 4) You guys are the best two players on grass in the top half right now......Show that you are the best For Bartoli: 1) Breathe, breathe, breathe 2) Attack Lisicki's 2nd serve, back up a bit on her first serve, take away her down the middle at least. 3) Show this to be a mental tough match. Tactics for Kvitova-Pironkova Kvitova: 1) Place Doubt into Pironkova early 2) HIt hard, but especially, to her forehand for short easy volleys 3) Keep your concentration high. Pironkova: 1) You haven't thought about the rankings at all......Don't do it now 2) Don't get tight, and stay with Kvitova 3) No off speed serve.....Go for it, because the junk won't work in this match. (The other two quarterfinals will come in a bit.)

Photo from AELTC Match of the day: Serena Williams-Marion Bartoli: Of the many great matches on Maniac Monday, this contest on the women's side stands out the most. This could be either Serena's first win over someone in the Top 10 in the early days of her comeback, or it could be another huge win in the Frenchwoman's mini revival to the sport's pinnacle. Serena will need to be as sharp on serve as she was against Kirilenko on Saturday or face a long two hours with Bartoli, in search of back to back semifinals at the Grand Slam. It's first up on Court 1 and it should be a fine one. Serena-Marion, a fascinating contest awaits. The Rest of Day 6's contests.... Peng-Sharapova: The 2004 Wimbledon champion still hasn't dropped a set here at The championships, but her form hasn't dramatically improved over the first three rounds. Still, the Russian has won the big points when it matters, giving her the confidence enough in her game to make a deep run he...

First, as always......Ludacris: Full Day 6 runthrough of the English/British Championships, to come. Stay tuned. And De La Soul: De La Soul - Roller Skating Jam Named Saturday by Brownsugar18

To Tevin, see you later: Day 5 Preview: Wozniacki-Razzano: Huge heartfelt for Razzano, still playing in the early days of the posthumous time of her fiancée'. She is mentally tough, and she had a fun match with Wozniacki at Eastbourne two years ago. But the Dane will win in two sets, as she is on a mission. Sharapova-Robson: The magic could be in the air today for Britain's young hopes. She plays with no pressure, and the dynamics of this match could be similar to Caroline Garcia-Sharapova at the french, with the crowd against Sharapova, the pressure on her, against an exciting young player who plays with house money. Maria again should win this in straight sets, but if Robson shows that she is ambitious in this match from the get go, this could be danger for the 3 time Grand Slam champion. (More to come in the day.)

The perfect song for this wonderful day:

Enjoy Timbaland's best artist project ever's fine selection from 2002: Justin Timberlake - Cry Me A River by perleligerienne

More great 10 summers ago nostalgia today, as Bad Boy 4 Life from Sean Combs is the next in this great day of Flashback Friday selections.

10 years/summers ago, the single that started it all. Enjoy:

This classic song for a beautiful day appears again:

Why Nadal won? 1) Because he is Rafael Nadal, simple as that. His fighting survivor instincts are second to none, and his ability to close out a match on Chartier, even after a nervy 3rd set finish, is also supreme. 2) Roger Federer just hit 11 aces. Hitting that many aces against Nadal on clay is still quite amazing, but there needed to be more for Federer to garner his biggest win ever. He needed as many cheap points that he could get, like he did against Djokovic. 3) And with that, no matter how hard he tried to improve it against the Spaniard, Federer's one handed backhand just wasn't strong enough to overcome Nadal, nor was his forehand too fierce to top Nadal's forehand on the day. (Pre-Match Analysis, down here below): For Federer: 1) Keep valuing your serve to the bitter end. Getting any cheap points against Rafa anywhere, especially on clay, is great. 2) Let your forehand be steady, and let your play at net be bold. 3) You've get the perfect...

From Getty Images The full write up on a remarkable day for Chinese and Asian tennis, as well as world tennis in general. The tactics. For Na Li: 1) Show Schiavone that you will not be bothered by the short ball today. 2)Hit the ball in the middle of the court for a majority of times, and close when you get an opening. Don't rush 3) Close this time. You were up a set against Clijsters, and it's important for you to finish the job if you get the chance today. For Schiavone: 1) Stay steady on the forehand, and continue to be you. 2)Show that you are the champion, and survive the power of the China woman. Prediction: Schiavone in 3 dramatic sets that we'll remember forever. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1st set analysis and tactics: 72% first serve, that says it all about Na Li's serving and her stroking off her confident first swing. 17 winners, just 10 errors, while 3 winners and 4 errors for N...

Photo from the AP The almost two month journey that is the European clay court season can be similar to a semester at school. Key examinations will come along your way, but nothing will be of more importance than the final overall test. It's the grade that carries the most weight, and a terrific score on it could be the difference to whether you past the class or not. It could also mean whether you excelled to a higher level than any of your peers. The latter scenario is what both Francesca Schiavone and Na Li are seeking for, as both veteran combatants look to ace the final exam of the clay court season, the French Open final. Coming into Rolland Garros, despite arguably the most wide open field ever, both of the women's finalists were not considered as top favorites to hoist the Lenglen trophy. The early exams on the red dirt showed that Li and Schiavone weren't playing the tennis to make pundits give their confidence in them to win 7 matches in Paris. The defendi...

From RolandGarros.org In arguably his most satisfying Grand Slam semifinal win ever, Roger Federer has impressively defeated Novak Djokovic in four amazing sets, ending the Serbian's remarkable 43 match winning streak here in Paris. It was quite the performance from a man desperate to show people that he can be the best again in tennis, despite both his growing age and dealing with the likes of Rafael Nadal and Djokovic standing in his way. All facets of his game, from his deadly forehand to his pinpoint serve, were clicking at optimum levels today for the 16 time Grand Slam champion. And those shots were just too much for even the inform, seemingly impenetrable Djokovic to make the win streak reach an amazing 44. Federer fittingly backed up his world class serving with an ace on match point as darkness beset on Court Chartier. And he made sure to remind anyone who he was exactly again, just in case they forgot. His name is Roger Federer, and he is a legend. From RolandGar...

Rafael Nadal has reached another final here at Roland Garros, defeating good friend Andy Murray once more in a straight sets win that was far from routine. The 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 win by Nadal at least secures him his #1 ranking for a few more hours, with Novak Djokovic taking over the top spot from him with a victory over Roger Federer in the succeeding semifinal. To the Scotsman's credit, he validated that despite not having a Grand Slam title unlike his Big 4 colleagues, he can still provide a fiercely competitive match where nothing short of best will beat him. But Nadal was just that today, with clutch serving, wicked forehands, and displaying temerity with some serve and volley play even. The clay court master has relocated the confidence he was in dire search for before his quarterfinal matchup with Robin Soderling. And only a perfect 3 sets will be enough to deny him a record tying 6th title with Bjorn Borg here in Paris. Pre match analysis: From tennis.com Tacti...