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Rafael Nadal regained his aura of invincibility on clay on Sunday by brutally crushing Casper Ruud to lift the French Open trophy for an incredible 14th time and widen the gap at the top of the men's all-time list of Grand Slam winners. Norwegian Ruud became the latest victim in a long line of challengers who have unsuccessfully tried to defeat the Spaniard in the Roland Garros final since Nadal won his maiden title on the red clay in 2005. There was a

Wales ended their 64-year wait for a place in the World Cup finals as they beat Ukraine 1-0 on Sunday to end the war-torn nation's hopes of reaching Qatar. An own goal from Ukraine winger Andriy Yarmolenko, who headed a Gareth Bale free-kick into his own net, decided the contest. It was a cruel way for Ukraine's qualification effort to end with Oleksandr Petrakov's side, who beat Scotland in the playoff semi-final, again showing a level of football which would have certainly merited

Eighth seed Casper Ruud battled past teenager Holger Rune 6-1 4-6 7-6(2) 6-3 on Wednesday to reach the French Open semi-finals and become the first Norwegian to reach this stage in any Grand Slam. He will play Croatian 20th seed Marin Cilic in the semi-final. "Of course a lot of nerves all day to get going. It's tough to find calm and peace," Ruud said. "I started great but Holger fought back and raised his level." "I had played him three times already,

Argentina marked the revival of the Cup of Champions in style as an inspired Lionel Messi helped them outclass Italy 3-0 in a heavyweight clash billed as the 'Finalissima' at a raucous Wembley Stadium on Wednesday. First-half goals by Lautaro Martinez and Angel di Maria put the south American champions in complete control against an Italy side who were back at Wembley 11 months after beating England to win the delayed Euro 2020. With thousands of their supporters in the 87,000 crowd determined

Ukraine midfielder Oleksandr Zinchenko broke into tears on the eve of his team's crucial World Cup qualifier with Scotland and said he wanted above everything to see peace in his homeland. Ukraine, which has been ravaged by war since Russia's invasion in February, face Scotland at Hampden Park on Wednesday and if they win that game they will go on to take on Wales in Cardiff on Sunday for a place in the finals in Qatar in November. But Zinchenko, who plays for

Debutants Gujarat Titans were crowned the Indian Premier League (IPL) champions on Sunday after they capped a fairytale season by beating inaugural champions Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets in front of 100,000 fans in their home ground in Ahmedabad. Gujarat captain Hardik Pandya conjured up a stellar all-round display as his team clinched the low-scoring final with 11 balls to spare. Opting to bat first, 2008 champions Rajasthan never got going and posted a below-par 130-9 with Jos Buttler, this IPL's leading scorer,

France's sports ministry will meet with police and soccer officials on Monday to discuss the chaotic scenes at the Stade de France before and during Saturday's Champions League final, sports minister Amelie Oudea-Castera said. The final between Liverpool and Real Madrid kicked off with a 35-minute delay after police tried to hold back people attempting to force their way into the French national stadium without tickets, while some ticket holders complained they were not let in. Reuters TV footage showed riot police chasing

Norway's Casper Ruud and Denmark's Holger Rune led a Viking charge into the last 16 of the French Open with impressive wins at Roland Garros on Saturday. Eighth seed Ruud battled back to beat Italy's Lorenzo Sonego to take his place in the fourth round in Paris for the first time having reached round three for the past three years. A little later, Danish 19-year-old Rune continued his sensational progress as he trounced France's Hugo Gaston. Things looked bad for Ruud when a

Liverpool will look to win European club football's most prestigious prize for the seventh time when they face Real Madrid in a mouth-watering Champions League final in Paris on Saturday. Up to 60,000 Liverpool fans - many without tickets - are expected in the French capital as Jurgen Klopp's Reds attempt to seal an FA Cup, Carabao Cup and Champions League treble in their 63rd and final game of 2021-22. However, Real Madrid are record 13-time winners and their Italian boss Carlo Ancelotti

The International Football Association (FIFA) announced that tickets will be available Thursday, 26 May, as of 15:00 Doha timefor the last three crucial FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 play-off matches at Qatar's Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium that will decide the final two slots for the greatest global celebration of the beautiful game. The winners of the AFC play-off between Australia and UAE on 7 June will face Peru in a decisive intercontinental play-off on 13 June. The other winner-takes-all intercontinental play-off will take

Deal is set to bring an end to Roman Abramovich's 19-year ownership of Chelsea, in which the club has won 21 trophies including five Premier League titles and two Champions Leagues The government has approved the £4.25bn Todd Boehly-led consortium takeover of Chelsea. After months of negotiations, the deal has finally been approved after the government received legal guarantees that Roman Abramovich - who has had his UK assets frozen - will not benefit from the sale. The proceeds from the sale will

Lucknow Super Giants are all set to take on the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the eliminator of IPL 2022 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The KL Rahul side finished third in the points table and they are coming on the back of a nail-biting thriller against Kolkata Knight Riders in the previous game. The side is likely to bring back regulars like Krunal Pandya and Ayush Badoni for the upcoming fixture after being benched for their last league game. On the other,

Manchester United secured a ticket to next season's Europa League after they ended their Premier League campaign in sixth place, despite losing 1-0 away at Crystal Palace on Sunday. Forward Wilfried Zaha scored against his former team in the first half as Palace celebrated their first-ever Premier League victory over United at home. Ralf Rangnick's tenure as interim manager came to an end with United collecting 58 points, their lowest tally in Premier League history. Watched by new manager Erik ten Hag from

Manchester City won the Premier League title by a point from Liverpool on a thrilling final day of the campaign after Pep Guardiola's side survived a huge scare on Sunday. City had to fight back from 2-0 down against Aston Villa in the second half, but three goals in the space of five stunning minutes -- including two from substitute Ilkay Gundogan -- set off the party, with fans pouring onto the field at the Etihad Stadium at the final whistle. City have

France forward Kylian Mbappe has extended his contract with Paris St Germain until 2025, club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi said on Saturday. "I'm proud to give you a beautiful piece of news -- Kylian Mbappe has signed until June 2025 with Paris St Germain," Al Khelaifi said as he posed with the 23-year-old holding a Mbappe 2025 PSG shirt at the Parc des Princes before the last game of the Ligue 1 season against Metz. Mbappe's deal was set to expire at the end

RB Leipzig defeated Freiburg 4-2 on penalties in a vibrant German Cup final on Saturday, bringing Domenico Tedesco's side their first major trophy despite playing for an hour with 10 men at Berlin's Olympic stadium. Leipzig's Benjamin Henrichsconverted the winning spot kick in the shootout after Freiburg captain Christian Guenter and forward Ermedin Demirovic missed their penalties following a thrilling clash that ended 1-1 after extra time. "It's crazy… we had a very bad start to the game, played an abysmal first half,

A fired up Virat Kohli roared back to form with a fine half-century as Royal Challengers Bangalore stayed alive in the IPL play-off race with a thumping eight-wicket win over table toppers Gujarat Titans on Thursday. A fired up Virat Kohli roared back to form with a fine half-century as Royal Challengers Bangalore stayed alive in the IPL play-off race with a thumping eight-wicket win over table toppers Gujarat Titans on Thursday. This was after skipper Hardik Pandya scored a gritty 47-ball 62

Amnesty International and other rights groups have called on FIFA to set aside $440 million to compensate migrant workers in Qatar for "human rights abuses" during preparations for the 2022 World Cup. In a letter to FIFA President Gianni Infantino, the groups said world soccer's governing body should also work with the host nation to protect the rights of migrant workers in the future. "To remedy the litany of abuses committed since 2010, when FIFA awarded hosting rights to Qatar without requiring any

World number two Daniil Medvedev has downplayed his chances of mounting a serious challenge at the French Open after the Russian went down to Richard Gasquet at the Geneva Open on Tuesday in his first match back since hernia surgery. The U.S. Open champion, who last played at the Miami Open at the end of March, was beaten 6-2 7-6(5) by Gasquet at the ATP 250 claycourt event. "I don't play my best tennis on clay courts," he told reporters. "I know that

Joel Matip's stooping header gave Liverpool a 2-1 win at Southampton on Tuesday tokeep the Premier League title race alive until the final day of the season. The result leaves Liverpool a point behind leaders Manchester City ahead of Sunday's final round of games when City are at home to Aston Villa and Liverpool host Wolverhampton Wanderers at Anfield. City have 90 points with Liverpool on 89, meaning that victory for Pep Guardiola's side against Villa, managed by former Reds captain Steven Gerrard,