Nick Bollettieri's Wimbledon Dossier: Bartoli's courage and faith win day

Holy Mackerel! Holy Cow! Wholly astounding. We witnessed some quite incredible scenes yesterday, and I don't just mean Marion Bartoli ending Justine Henin's her hopes in a stunning shock. What in the WHIRLED is happening!!?

What the French girl showed was absolute guts to come back from losing the first set so quickly, and then, when she could scent that Henin was faltering and vulnerable, she was able to stamp on her throat. Not literally, of course, although I'm guessing that Justine was feeling pretty winded as she left that court. The glorious summer evening light that has finally arrived in London must never have seemed so gloomy.

As I saw it, Bartoli kept faith, and when she started to throw her punches in the second, Henin sensed her huge pre-match favouritism not as a cloak of invincibility but as an enormous black cloud. And Bartoli just saw a boxing match. Her opponent was on the ropes, and she kept slugging until it was done.

We were also thrilled by Novak Djokovic and Marcos Baghdatis taking it to five, and Andy Roddick being made to call upon not just his massive serve but his street-fighter instinct as Richard Gasquet came back at him. Heck, even the Lord of Wimbledon, Roger Federer, lost a set. Has the whole planet gone stark raving insane?

Of course not. All of these things get to the very heart of what tennis, indeed sport, is all about. We can all try to make a call, pick a winner and sit back expecting that certain players will absolutely win, and then matches come along like Henin-Bartoli to show us that it sometimes just ain't like that. Thank the Lord.

The other story of the day was French tennis. Bartoli allowed a nation that had lost its reigning champion in Amélie Mauresmo to punch the air and shout "Mon Dieu" and "Holy Vache" after all.

And on Court One, Gasquet, with his brilliant shot-making, showed us there's steel in his soul as well as he came back from two sets down to take Roddick to a fifth. That match was of particular interest to me because his development is supported by Team Lagardère, a privately-funded, Paris-based academy.

I have been thrilled this year to be working as a consultant to that project on the personal invitation of its founder and backer, Arnaud Lagardère, a true gentleman, and a visionary in many ways.

I can take no credit at all - not a drop - for Gasquet or their other young players because my role is not hands-on in any way. Rather, I was honoured that Arnaud should ask me to just to look at his facilities, observe their methods, and then use my 50 years of experience in coaching to help the development of French tennis. I have been delighted to do so.

But nobody can manufacture the shades and depth of natural spirit we saw all around Wimbledon yesterday. Not even me.

Venus will push hard for trophy

I've known Venus and Serena Williams since they would little girls and their father, Richard, brought them to me and asked me to take a look at them. From the get-go they were incredible: two kids with more athletic ability in their little fingers than most people have after a lifetime in the gym. And they were only about 10 and eight-years-old at the time. They got better, much better, to the extent that for several years they annexed the women's game, and then forced it to redefine itself to match them. All careers have ups and downs, and those sisters have been no different. But at the beating heart of their very essence is Family Business, and a desire to succeed like no other. Serena lost here at Wimbledon this year ultimately because of injury, in my opinion. Venus is left standing, and standing oh so tall, and fast, and elegant, and powerful. Her name, of course, has always been on the Venus Rosewater Dish. And she's won the trophy three times. Four? I think so, don't you? More picks and check my success rate at: www.nickbollettieri.com

Today's Big Match: Novak Djokovic v Rafael Nadal

Head-to-head: Five previous meetings. Nadal leads 4-1.

Odds: Djokovic: 5-2. Nadal: 2-5.

Bollettieri's prediction: Nadal's stamina edges it.

Novak Djokovic did it for Serbia again yesterday when he eventually overcame Marcos Baghdatis in five tough, long sets. What an absolutely enormous talent this boy has. At a dinner with friends the night before the tournament began, one of them asked me which of the hot, young guns of the 20-22 age group (Andy Murray, Richard Gasquet, Gael Monfils, Baghdatis, Tomas Berdych) would win Wimbledon first. It was an intriguing debate and after we'd chewed the fat a while and eliminated them one by one, Djokovic was left standing as my answer. I didn't say he'd do it this year, and I still have to stick to my belief that Roger Federer will win the tournament. But Novak is a wonderful and determined player, with a good serve, a game he can mix up when necessary and an array of shot-making skills in his locker. Here comes the but. But. I can't help but feel yesterday's match - 61 games long, count 'em!! - will have taken something out of him. And against the beefcake Spaniard Nadal, who will only leave a tennis court when he's dragged off by his pirate pants or carried away on a stretcher, I think this assignment could be one too far. If he tries to play Nadal from the baseline, he loses. If he mixes it up, astonishingly, he tires. So the edge, on energy, goes to Nadal.

The next Agassi or just want to improve your game? Win a week at the Bollettieri Tennis Academy

OK folks, this is your last chance to enter our competition to win a week-long tennis holiday at my Florida academy. Email to tell me who you think will win today's big match. I have two prizes to give away this fortnight: a one-week programme of your choice for an adult (18 and over) and the same for one kid (under 18). I'll cover tuition, meals and accommodation. You buy the flight.

Your emails have been pouring in and I've selected one adult and junior finalist each day. On Sunday I'll put all the finalists' names in a hat and draw one overall adult and one junior winner.

On Thursday our big match was Hewitt-Djokovic, and I also asked for predictions on Nadal-Youzhny. I've selected an adult winner from each (no juniors got it). Brian Chambers was on the money by saying Djokovic in four close and probably tiebreak sets. And for the third time, Rachel O'Reilly was the adult winner. Rachel, if you're not a gambler, you should be, and your analysis has been consistently impressive.

Rachel wrote: "Despite his struggle in his previous match, there is no doubting Nadal's supreme physical conditioning and his stamina will never be in question. Nadal will cover more ground than Youzhny, hit less unforced errors and produce more winners, some from far, far behind the baseline."

So, Rachel's name goes in the hat for the adult prize three times, along with Richard Morris, James Park, Jason Jackson, Colin Allen, Sandra Lane and Brian Chambers. The overall kids winner will be drawn from: Zachary Pajak (in the hat twice), Sebastian Foss, Kate Brown, Iona McKenzie, Jnr Deluca and Hein Botha.

All readers have one last chance to get their names in those hats by entering today. Tell me, in 100 words or fewer, the score in the big match, and tell me how your pick will win.

For your chance to win, email your entry to: n.bollettieri@independent.co.uk

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