ALEX ADAM'S

Happy Birthday guys. God bless.

Not only did Andy Murray take the first set of his Wimbledon semifinal against Rafael Nadal, but he did so with such ease that the idea of him knocking off the 10-time Grand Slam champion and becoming the first British man to advance to the tournament final in 75 years seemed possible, if not likely.

Murray was hitting balls crisply and had the confidence that was on display throughout his run to the semifinals. Nadal was oddly reserved, almost as if he knew that if Murray continued to play at such a high level then there was little he could do.

Early in the second set, the world No. 4 had a chance to break open the match. Leading 30-15 on Nadal's serve, Murray had an opportunity to hit an easy forehand winner that would have given him two break points to go up 3-1. With the backing of the crowd at Centre Court and the boost of self-assurance the break would give him, Murray was on the brink. Get that forehand in and maybe, just maybe ...



Murray lost the next point and the next one after that and then the two after that. His theoretical 3-1 lead became a 2-2 tie that felt like a 1-3 deficit. Nadal saw the window open and pounced. He won the next seven games and the rest of the match was mere formality. It was his 20th straight victory at the All England Club.

Something changed in both players after that point. Murray didn't collapse, per se; to suggest that would be to minimize the brilliance of Nadal. The Spaniard went into Rafa gear after staving off the break. Murray shrunk into the player that he's been in other big Grand Slam moments. The lead all but evaporated.

Murray folds at the first sign of pressure. Whereas Jo-Wilfried Tsonga can come back from two sets down against Federer, and Federer can do the same against Nadal, and Djokovic can stay competitive in a French Open semifinal when things don't go his way, Murray hasn't shown a knack for it during his career. (And, no, doing it against Viktor Troicki in the fourth round of the French Open doesn't count.) Look at his record in Slams. He's a great front-runner. When he goes down, he goes down hard. Murray's troubling habit of going down at the first punch and never recovering is what has kept him from becoming from a Slam champion.

He's going to win a major someday; he's too good not to. At some point, his on-court mental issues will be outweighed by his talent. For now, he's left to wonder what could have been.

Nadal confirmed that the missed forehand was a turning point. Of all the 216 points in the match, he singled out that one in an interview with the BBC.

"He was playing fantastic at the beginning but he had an important mistake in the beginning of the second at 15-30," Nadal said. "He had an easy forehand he played long, so that was probably one of the turning points of the match."




source:yahoo.com

God bless!!!

source:eonline.com

The regals have landed. And how.

Looking fresh-faced from their first whirlwind (three outfit!) day in Canada, Prince William and Kate Middleton began their second full day of appearances bright and early this morning, kicking off what is expected to be the most ceremonial day of engagements on their trip.

Well, it is Canada Day, after all. And as for Kate, well, you better believe she dressed the part.




Once again recycling a dress from her personal collection—the cream ruffled Reiss dress she donned in her official engagement photos—she topped off the outfit with a red Sylvia Fletcher fascinator which, if it wasn't actually featuring a red maple leaf, certainly seemed to bear enough of a resemblance to one to make it the absolute perfect head-topper for the patriotic occasion. Ditto the diamond maple leaf brooch—which incidentally is on loan to the Duchess from the queen's personal collection, and which was first worn by the then-Princess Elizabeth on her first trip to Canada in 1951—and a fan-shaped red straw clutch from Anya Hindmarch (now on sale for $225) that rounded out Kate's outfit.

As for today's itinerary, the royal newlyweds started off the day by attending the Canadian Citizenship Ceremony at the Museum of Canadian Civilization. The swearing-in ceremony was also attended by the Governor-General of Canada and witnessed about a dozen new Canadians pledge their allegiance to Wills' grandma—er, the queen.

Afterward, the couple is expected to hand out celebration flags to about a dozen new citizens before making their way over to the Canada Day "Noon Show" at Ottawa's Parliament Hill, in what is the traditional focal point of all Canada Day celebrations. The couple will be joined by about 500,000 Canadians (forming a veritable sea of red and white) on the hill, and listen to music, speeches and witness all manner of general pageantry.

It's during that portion of celebrations that both Prince William and the Prime Minister will give speeches.

Then the Duke and Duchess will be given some much-needed downtime to refuel (and change clothes!) before heading back out to the "Evening Show," which will feature yet more patriotic entertainment, before finishing up the night at a private diplomatic reception.

But while the day will be full of celebrations for the couple, their downtime, at least, might feature a more somber, reflective moment or two: Today also marks what would have been Diana's 50th birthday.



source:eonline.com

In the middle of the night
In the middle of the night I call your name
Oh Yoko, oh Yoko, my love will turn you on

In the middle of the bath
In the middle of the bath I call your name
Oh Yoko, oh Yoko, my love will turn you on
My love will turn you on

In the middle of a shave
In the middle of a shave I call your name
Oh Yoko, oh Yoko, my love will turn you on

In the middle of a dream
In the middle of a dream I call your name
Oh Yoko, oh Yoko, my love will turn you on
My love will turn you on

In the middle of a cloud
In the middle of a cloud I call your name
Oh Yoko, oh Yoko, my love will turn you on
Oh Yoko, oh Yoko, oh Yoko, oh Yoko




source:sing365.com

With two goals against Canada at the FIFA Women's World Cup Germany 2011, Gaetane Thiney certainly knows how to play soccer or football (as the rest of the world calls it). The French footballer also looks pretty hot off the soccer pitch - and people are noticing.

A survey of 1,100 French men at FirstAffair.fr, picked Gaetane Thiney as the sexiest French Women's World Cup player. She earned 28 per cent of the vote. Also in the top five were Corine Franco (14%), Boulleau Laure (13%), Elodie Thomis (10%) and Camille Alily (8%).