Garbine Muguruza beats Serena Williams in straight sets to win French Open and complete her first grand slam

To Roberta Vinci and Angelique Kerber add the name of Garbine Muguruza to the list of those denying Serena Williams another grand slam title.

The world No 4 defeated the 34-year-old American 7-5, 6-4 in a high-quality French Open final to make it a hat-trick of near misses for probably the greatest woman to have played the game.

Williams is marooned on 21 grand slams, one short of Steffi Graf, after the exertions of the past week and an inspired opponent caught up with her.

Muguruza saw off the challenge of Williams 7-5, 6-4 at Roland Garros

The Spaniard produced a terrific performance in Paris

The 22-year-old puts her hands to her face in joy in the immediate moments after clinching victory

The statuesque Spaniard, born in Venezuela before moving to Europe aged six, showed admirable composure in seeing off a determined effort from Williams, who now has only the Wimbledon trophy in her possession.

And unlike Kerber, you suspect, this could be the first of numerous Grand Slams for the 22 year-old. She won the match with some ferocious hitting, despite serving nine double faults, and will be a very serious threat at Wimbledon again.

Having missed four championship points at 5-3 against the Williams serve she nervelessly served it out and clinched the match when the American let a ball she thought was going out land on the baseline.

It is the first time that Williams has lost two slam titles in a row, having been beaten by Vinci in the New York semi-finals.

Muguruza avenged her defeat to Williams in last year's Wimbledon final by beating her American opponent


Muguruza continued her fine form in the second set, breaking early and holding her serve tMuguruza continued her fine form in the second set, breaking early and holding her serve to win 6-4

Actress Hilary Swank was among the spectators watching the final on a chilly day at Roland Garros

But she had come out showing no signs of the stomach strain that may have inhibited her in the semi-finals, and hit hard from the start.

However, Muguruza was able to fight fire with fire, and her composure under pressure was impressive, as if she had learned from the experience of the Wimbledon finale last year.

She had to battle hard to save two break points in the third game and then broke herself to go 3-2 up when Williams double faulted.

But the American then rallied from 2-4 to take the next three games, her experience apparently starting to tell. The sun even made the most brief and welcome appearance, the first time it had been seen for a week.

Yet the pattern of the set repeated itself with the Spaniard then reeling off games, breaking for 6-5 with a cross court forehand, although it was her huge forehand down the line that had been causing most damage, with Williams simply unable to cover the corners.

Williams shows the expressions of a difficult afternoon on her part on a gloomy afternoon in Paris

Both players show extreme focus as they change ends between games during the second set of the match

Williams contemplates a missed chance

The twelfth game was huge as Muguruza save two break points, one with an ace, and then finally claimed her third set point with a backhand fired deep into the corner.

That would mean a further dip into the American’s reserves of energy after four days of continuous play, and Muguruza broke to go 3-1 up.

Williams kept the pressure on but, at 4-3, the 22-year-old served two aces to put herself within a game of the match.

There were some fractional misses at the first time of asking but she made no mistake at 5-4.

The world No 4 clenches her fist during her impressive display against the American great on Saturday

The two players embrace in the middle of Court Philippe Chatrier at the end of the game in Paris.

Mohammed Ali dies at 74.

BOXING
Muhammad Ali, The Greatest, dies aged 74
Former world heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali, whose record-setting boxing career, unprecedented flair for showmanship, and controversial stands made him one of the best-known figures of the 20th century, died on Friday aged 74.
Ali's death was confirmed in a statement issued by family spokesman Bob Gunnell late Friday evening, a day after he was admitted to a Phoenix-area hospital with a respiratory ailment.
The cause of death or the name of the hospital where he died were not immediately disclosed.
Ali had long suffered from Parkinson's syndrome, which impaired his speech and made the once-graceful athlete almost a prisoner in his own body. Even so, Ali's youthful proclamation of himself as "The Greatest" rang true until the end for the millions of people worldwide who admired him for his courage both inside and outside the ring.
"A part of me slipped away, the greatest piece," George Foreman, a former heavyweight boxer and one of Ali's most formidable opponents in the ring, said on Twitter after the news of Ali's death.
Roy Jones Jr., a former champion boxer who grew up during Ali's prime, also said in a Tweet: "My heart is deeply saddened yet both appreciative and relieved that the greatest is now resting in the greatest place."

Few could argue with his athletic prowess at his peak in the 1960s. With his dancing feet and quick fists, he could - as he put it - float like a butterfly and sting like a bee. He was the first person to win the heavyweight championship three times.
But Ali became much more than a colourful and interesting athlete. He spoke boldly against racism in the '60s, as well as the Vietnam War.
During and after his championship reign, Ali met scores of world leaders and for a time he was considered the most recognisable person on earth, known even in remote villages far from the United States.
Ali's diagnosis of Parkinson's came about three years after he retired from boxing in 1981.

His influence extended far beyond boxing. He became the unofficial spokesman for millions of blacks and oppressed people around the world because of his refusal to compromise his opinions and stand up to white authorities.
In a realm where athletes often battle inarticulateness as well as their opponents, Ali was known as the Louisville Lip and loved to talk, especially about himself.
"Humble people, I've found, don't get very far," he once told a reporter.
His taunts could be brutal. "Joe Frazier is so ugly that when he cries, the tears turn around and go down the back of his head," he once said. He also dubbed Frazier a 'gorilla' but later apologized and said it was all to promote the fight.

Once asked about his preferred legacy, Ali said: "I would like to be remembered as a man who won the heavyweight title three times, who was humorous and who treated everyone right. As a man who never looked down on those who looked up to him ... who stood up for his beliefs ... who tried to unite all humankind through faith and love.
"And if all that's too much, then I guess I'd settle for being remembered only as a great boxer who became a leader and a champion of his people. And I wouldn't even mind if folks forgot how pretty I was."
Ali was born in Louisville, Kentucky, on January 17, 1942, as Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr., a name shared with a 19th century slavery abolitionist. He changed his name after his conversion to Islam.
Ali is survived by his wife, the former Lonnie Williams, who knew him when she was a child in Louisville, along with his nine children.

Eight facts about Mohammed Ali

* Ali had a show-time personality, dazzling footwork and great hand speed that combined to make him a champion like his sport had never seen. His career record was 56 victories, 37 of them by knockout, and five losses. He held the world championship an unprecedented three different times.
* Fighting under his given name of Cassius Clay, he won a gold medal in the light heavyweight competition at the 1960 Olympics in Rome. In a 1975 autobiography he said he threw the medal into a river one night after being refused service in a Louisville restaurant and being harassed by a gang of whites. Two biographers, however, said Ali actually lost the medal unintentionally.
* His first professional fight was a six-round decision in 1960 over Tunney Hunsaker, whose day job was police chief of Fayetteville, West Virginia. Ali and Hunsaker became friends and Ali wrote in an autobiography that one of the hardest body blows he ever received came from Hunsaker.
* After Malcolm X helped Ali become a member of the Nation of Islam, he dropped his given name in favor of Cassius X. Malcolm X later split from the church in a dispute but the fighter stayed on and changed his name to Muhammad Ali, which Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad said was his "true name."
* Claiming conscientious objector status, Ali refused to be inducted into the U.S. Army in 1967. He was sentenced to five years in prison, lost his title and could not get a fight at a time when he was in his athletic prime. He never went to prison while his case was under appeal and in 1971 the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the conviction.
* In 1984 Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson's syndrome that apparently was linked to his career. It left him slow, shaky and unable to speak much above a whisper but close associates said he never lost his sense of humor or zeal for his faith.
* Ali, named the top sportsman of the 20th century by Sports Illustrated magazine, met world leaders such as Queen Elizabeth, Nelson Mandela, Pope John Paul II, Fidel Castro and Saddam Hussein. He was given a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005.
* The U.S. Army measured Ali's IQ at 78. In his autobiography he said, "I only said I was the greatest, not the smartest."

Muhammad Ali's greatest quotes
Muhammad Ali was not only a boxing champion, he was a championship talker.
"Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, your hands cna't hit what your eyes can't see."

"It's just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I beat people up."

"Boxing is a lot of white men watching two black men beat each other up."

"At home I am a nice guy but I don't want the world to know. Humble people, I've found, don't get very far."

"I've wrestled with alligators. I've tussled with a whale. I done handcuffed lightning, and throw thunder in jail. You know I'm bad. Just last week, I murdered a rock, injured a stone, hospitalized a brick. I'm so mean, I make medicine sick."

"I'm not the greatest. I'm the double greatest. Not only do I knock 'em out, I pick the round. I'm the boldest, the prettiest, the most superior, most scientific, most skillfullest fighter in the ring today."

Sepp Blatter's corrupt FIFA regime laid bare as documents reveal £55m of 'bonus' payments across five years between him, Jerome Valcke and Markus Kattner.

 president Sepp Blatter’s corrupt regime in Zurich was laid bare yesterday by the publication of documents showing he and his closest two executives awarded themselves more than £55million of dodgy payments over five years.

FIFA’s American lawyers Quinn Emanuel, who have conducted a year-long probe into the wholesale wrongdoing at world football’s ruling body, produced the evidence after examining a mountain of documents.

Blatter (now suspended), secretary general Jerome Valcke and finance director Markus Kattner (both sacked) conducted a ‘co-ordinated effort to enrich themselves’ through pay rises, contract extensions and amendments, indemnity clauses and fabulous bonuses over a five-year period from the end of 2010.

Ex-FIFA president Sepp Blatter and Jerome Valcke accused of 'enriching themselves by £55m'

Former deputy secretary general Markus Kattner also received compensation awards during his time at FIFA

The millions of pounds of bonuses to former FIFA trio Blatter, Valcke and Kattner which are being probed

WHAT SEPP PAID HIMSELF

£8.4m: Performance bonus in May 2015, on top of a £1m annual bonus.

£8.4m: World Cup bonus paid almost three years before the 2014 showpiece in Brazil.

£7.7m World Cup bonus after the 2010 event in South Africa.

£1m: Another performance bonus in October 2013.

Blatter pocketed £23.3m, Valcke £22.9m and Kattner £9.5m — on top of their basic salaries.

FIFA revealed the staggering financial numbers the day after Swiss authorities raided Kattner’s office at FIFA headquarters in Zurich and took away documents and electronic data. The investigations are continuing with the possibility of criminal charges.

Bill Burck, a partner with Quinn Emanuel, who have effectively run FIFA since the organisation went into meltdown with the mass arrests in May 2015, said: ‘The evidence appears to reveal a co-ordinated effort by three former top officials of FIFA to enrich themselves through annual salary increases, World Cup bonuses and other incentives totalling more than 79m Swiss Francs — in just the last five years.’

Blatter and former colleagues are accused of costing the organisation more than £55m in the last five years

Swiss authorities carried out a search of FIFA's Zurich headquarters  as they continue criminal investigation

The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) conducted the search and seized documents

A statement from the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland said: ‘As part of the ongoing criminal investigation in the FIFA affair, the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland carried out a search of FIFA headquarters on June 2 (this year) with the aim of confirming existing findings and obtaining further information.

Documents and electronic data were seized and will now be examined to determine their relevance to the ongoing proceedings.

The secretly agreed payments were significantly more than Blatter’s base payment of £2.5m which was revealed by FIFA in March. He received an £8.4m bonus for the last World Cup.

And payments to the president remain the root of FIFA’s problems. New president Gianni Infantino refused the offer of £2.1m-a-year from the compensation committee chaired by Domenica Scala. She subsequently resigned his audit and compliance role after Infantino effectively took control of all independent FIFA committees in a power grab at a Council meeting in Mexico City.

Blatter is  subject to the Swiss authorities' criminal investigation over the 'disloyal payment' to Michel Platini

Platini was banned after it was discovered he received a payment worth around £1.4m at current exchange rates from FIFA in 2011

Infantino also appointed United Nations diplomat Fatma Samoura as the most low-profile secretary general imaginable without her going through an integrity check.

The Scala-led proposals had been for the secretary general to be paid more than the president, which is clearly not going to be the case now.

FIFA chose to put the Blatter, Valcke and Kattner bonuses in the public domain on the day Infantino himself was facing questions as to why he had ordered a copy of the audio tape of the FIFA Council meeting in Mexico City to be deleted. FIFA claim it had been stored on the wrong network drive.

Blatter’s spokesman Klaus Stoehlker said: ‘My job for Blatter is finished. The FIFA volcano is exploding.’

FIFA sources have said the Infantino accusations came from the Kattner and Scala camps

Valcke's home, who was banned from football for 12 years in February, was raided by Swiss police in March

Current FIFA president Gianni Infantino has denied any wrongdoing in relation to the documents which appear to show he had signed off on a Champions League television rights deal in 2006 - which is under investigation

TIMELINE OF CONTROVERSY THAT HAS ENGULFED THE GOVERNING BODY

MAY 2002

After becoming FIFA president in 1998, Blatter seeks re-election four years later but his campaign is blighted by rumours of financial irregularities.

DEC 2010

Blatter reveals Qatar will stage the 2022 World Cup.

MAY 2011

After rival Mohammed bin Hammam withdraws from the presidential election amid allegations of bribery, Blatter runs unopposed and elected for a fourth term.

APRIL 2013

FIFA's ethics committee concludes an investigation into bribery allegations surrounding the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. Blatter is cleared of any wrongdoing.

FIFA cohorts 'co-ordinated effort to enrich themselves' which cost the governing body £55m in five years

MAY 2015

Fourteen FIFA officials are arrested over 'rampant and systemic' corruption allegations. Blatter is urged to resign, despite not being implicated. He is again re-elected as FIFA president.

JUNE 2015

Blatter announces his resignation as president, before Swiss newspaper Blick claims he did not actually resign.

SEPTEMBER 2015

Swiss prosecutors open a criminal investigation into him.

OCTOBER 2015

Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini are provisionally banned for 90 days.

NOVEMBER 2015

FIFA ethics committee investigations unit submit final case report and request that UEFA president Michel Platini is banned for life.

DECEMBER 2015

Blatter and Platini are handed eight-year bans from all football activities by FIFA's ethics committee

FEBRUARY 2016

Gianni Infantino became the ninth FIFA president after being elected in Zurich and promised to 'restore a new era' to world football's governing body.

MAY 2016

Platini resigns as UEFA president after having ban for corruption cut from six years to four at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Arsenal trigger Leicester striker Jamie Vardy's £20m release clause

Arsenal have made a shock move to take England striker Jamie Vardy to the Emirates after triggering his £20million release clause.

Arsene Wenger has sanctioned a swoop for the Leicester City forward after several top-flight clubs were sounded out by the player’s representatives.

The Premier League champions will fight to keep their 24-goal forward, but are powerless to stop him moving to another Champions League club if they meet the agreed fee.

Arsenal are in talks to land Jamie Vardy after triggering his £20m release clause at Leicester.




The Leicester striker is currently on international duty with England ahead of Euro 2016

The 29-year-old played in all England's warm-up matches and scored the second goal against Turkey

Arsenal would be ready to give him a considerable increase on his current £80,000-a-week contract.

Wenger attended England’s win against Portugal on Thursday night when Vardy started up front for Roy Hodgson’s side.

VARDY CAREER RECORD

2010-11: Halifax Town (41 games, 29 goals)

2011-12: Fleetwood (42 games, 34 goals)

2012-16: Leicester (144 games, 50 goals)

England: 8 caps, 3 goals

Arsenal are in a race to complete the deal by the end of this weekend as England boss Hodgson does not want players discussing moves or undergoing medicals during Euro 2016.

The England squad meet on Monday before flying to France.

Vardy scored 24 goals leading the line in Leicester's remarkable Premier League triumph last season.

The striker also broke Ruud van Nistelrooy's record by scoring in 11 consecutive league matches

SPORTSMAIL BROKE THE NEWS


Vardy is happy at Leicester but will be 30 in January and knows this could be his only chance to join an elite club.

Sportsmail can reveal Arsenal were contacted last month and it is understood he wants a four-year deal in excess of £100,000 a week.

Given Vardy’s age and the size of the fee, a transfer was considered with caution as there is unlikely to be any sell-on value, but Wenger has decided to make his move.

Leicester are exploring offering Vardy a new deal or buying out the release clause.

The England star scored a spectacular long-range goal in the 2-0 win over Liverpool in February

Wenger attended England’s win against Portugal on Thursday night when Vardy started up front.

Roy Hodgson satisfied despite criticism of England's attack against Portugal

Roy Hodgson was satisfied with England's display against Portugal despite criticism over the ineffective deployment of Harry Kane and Jamie Vardy. 

Having come through hard-fought 2-1 wins against Turkey and Australia, the Three Lions welcomed the side ranked eighth in the world as they wrapped up their Euro 2016 preparations on Thursday evening.

Chris Smalling's late header secured a 1-0 victory to the delight of the sell-out Wembley crowd, but the performance left more questions than answers with England having stuttered against a side reduced to 10 men after a ludicrously high 36th-minute challenge by Bruno Alves.

It was an underwhelming display and the toothless attack was particularly concerning, with Hodgson unable to effectively shoehorn the triumvirate of Wayne Rooney, Kane and Vardy into the same line-up.

Former England striker Gary Lineker was frustrated to see Kane and Vardy tasked with providing width instead of the full-backs, while Alan Shearer was perplexed by the in-form pair's use.

"If you're going to play @HKane & @vardy7 then at least play them as centre forwards & not wingers," he posted on Twitter. "Or what's the point?" 

Rooney was coy when asked about how he felt things went in attack and Hodgson was not prepared to add his "voice to the debate" after the match.

"We played with split strikers,'' the England manager said. "When you play with that system, you need your strikers to split.

"If you play with them going down the middle and Rooney in behind them, you would never be able to defend the wide areas.

"There were moments in the game where they were too wide, but basically speaking their job is to split and come together."

Hodgson was "not prepared to accept that we didn't play well" against Portugal, but captain Rooney knows better performances are needed if Euro 2016 is to be a success.

"We won the game but it was always difficult for us when Portugal went down to 10 men,'' he told ITV Sport.

"They made it difficult but we kept going and we got the win so that was obviously important to us.

"We know in these games there have been a lot of changes. We haven't been at our best, but we have won the three games which is important, especially as a young team.

"We are winning games when we are not playing well. We have to improve and in tournament football you have to improve to win games."

England's 23-man squad have some time off before travelling to France on Monday and taking on Russia in their Group B opener on June 11 at Marseille's Stade Velodrome.

The talking points.

1) A win but hardly the send-off that was desired

After all the experimentation, the conclusions feel confused. Even in victory this was an anticlimactic mish-mash. The crowd did not necessarily demand a rip-roaring send-off before the team’s departure for France but they were dismayed by the awkward nature of England’s approach. Roy Hodgson might point to promise in his tactical tweaks but it was not always easy to discern much logical pattern to his team’s approach. For long periods five of the outfield players were effectively being used out of position, if Chris Smalling’s employment as a left-sided centre-half is taken into account. “Formations don’t win you games,” Hodgson had said but surely a level of familiarity in approach may have helped nine days from their opening Euro 2016 Group B fixture.

2) Diamond formation feels like a blunt instrument

Hodgson has fiddled with his formation over these friendly fixtures and appears to have concluded Danny Welbeck’s absence rather nullifies the 4-3-3, leaving his team built around the diamond. Yet whether the combination who started this contest should be deployed is open to doubt. Wayne Rooney sat at the tip – he had never played with Jamie Vardy before – though his eagerness to break beyond Danilo split the strikers and pinned them to the flanks. Harry Kane felt wasted out there, forever a raking pass away from his club-mate Dele Alli, where their close combination play had previously felt so key. The influence of the two most prolific English forwards in the Premier League felt unnecessarily blunted. The confusion was self-inflicted.

3) Alli’s talent is in real danger of being wasted

The England manager had been asked pre-match what had disappointed him from the two previous friendlies and had offered up frustration at the sight of opponents charging through his side’s midfield. Those told to shield the backline had not provided sufficient “screening”. Athleticism and mobility are apparently the key that could potentially count against Jack Wilshere – and to that end Eric Dier did offer reassurance at the base of midfield, flanked by the energy of James Milner and Alli. The former is always industrious but the latter would surely be more effective in advanced positions, as Mauricio Pochettino concluded over the season at Tottenham. The last thing England want is Alli growing frustrated on the periphery.

4) Will these be the players to take on Russia?

The likelihood is this England lineup will provide all but a couple of those who will begin against Russia at Stade Vélodrome. Maybe Jordan Henderson, with another week of training in Chantilly under his belt, may replace Milner. In defence John Stones, so impressive in the previous friendlies, could challenge Gary Cahill depending on the state of the latter’s hip, and Raheem Sterling or Adam Lallana will feel they warrant inclusion in midfield. It does not look quite so promising for Nathaniel Clyne given Kyle Walker was arguably this team’s most eye-catching performer, offering width, pace and delivery down the flank. Certainly, if the management opts to pursue familiar combinations then Walker and Danny Rose would feel like a natural full-back pairing.

5) We’re still unclear about Portugal’s credentials

Judging what threat will be carried by Portugal in France is tricky on this evidence alone, especially with Cristiano Ronaldo still sunning himself on a yacht in Ibiza and Pepe’s snarl also absent after the Champions League final. Certainly Fernando Santos’s side lacked an obvious goal threat with Nani, playing as a centre-forward, summing up their lack of bite by shooting high into the stand early on. They can console themselves that they have one of the world’s most potent attacking players ready to return, a figure they should have no problem incorporating into their system given the world tends to revolve entirely around him. Should England meet them later in the tournament then Portugal will surely pose more of a threat than this.

The question on every one's lips is can England go all the way?

With the array of stars, one will expect the best but reality check, can they?

Over the years, England has always flattered to deceive faltering when it mattersthe most.

But with four of the players making the PFA best eleven, might this just be the time?

After the woeful performance against a Ronaldoless Portugal, it is hard to see how an improved side will turn out.

With Rooney, Kane and Vardy, one will expect that goals will not be a problem for the 3lions, but it took a smalling to save the day against a ten men toothless Portugal.

Quality definitely will not be a problem but Hodgson's tactical  and technical genius will be put to the test.

As he once said, formations don't win u games but need me remind him that If it doesn't there shouldn't be a need for a tactician.

Straight up to the euros England!!!

NAIRABET CEO KEEN ON 3SC TAKEOVER

Nairabet CEO Otunba Akin Alabi has expressed his desire to buy Nigeria Professional Football League outfit, Shooting Stars with the aim of reviving its fortunes.

The Ibadan based outfit are not enjoying the best of time as they are languishing in the relegation zone of the NPFL with players and technical crew owed backlog of salaries, while coaches Kadiri Ikhana and Friday Christopher have stepped down as handlers of the team.

Commenting on Goal’s editorial Private ownership: The way forward for Shooting Stars, Otunba Alabi though admits that he has not done enough for the Oluyole Warriors, but feels the surest bet to making the club a force to be reckoned with again is by taking over the club should the Oyo state governor Abiola Ajimobi give his blessings.

“We sponsored the club this season but it's not enough. Maybe we will launch a bit to buy it if gov Ajimobi permits,” Alabi tweeted.


Alabi is a Shooting Stars fan and it will be recalled that he presented a brand new 32-seater coaster bus to the team at the beginning of the season.

3SC are one of the most successful clubs in the country with five Premier League titles, four Federation Cups, one Caf Confederation Cup and a Caf Cup to their credit

No minnows in football; Imama fires back at critics.

Imam Amapakabo has hit out at critics of the super eagles on the heels of the team's back to back wins in the recent international friendlies over mali and luxembourg.

Amapakabo, who as assistant to interim coach Salisu Yussuf faulted the arguments that the wins were a fluke and degraded the quality of the opponents as games against minnows.

Speaking to footballlive.ng, the Enugu Rangers boss maintains that there are no minnows in football; giving evidence of Nigeria's struggles to qualify for several editions of the African Cup of Nations and the World Cup.

The coach insists such claims meant to disparage the efforts of the team are wrong.

Source:footballlive.ng

WRAPUP 2-Djokovic enters $100 million dollar club, Serena plays catch-up

* Fourth-round matches completed 2 days behind schedules
* Organisers still under fire for Tuesday's rain call
* Murray and Wawrinka set up semi-final showdown (Adds further details)
Novak Djokovic had 100 million reasons to celebrate reaching the French Open quarter-finals on Wednesday -- albeit two days later than expected -- as players finally cleared the fourth-round backlog created by the fickle Parisian weather.
After relentless rain washed out all but two hours of play over the previous two days, under-fire Roland Garros organisers said such conditions had not been seen since 1873 as they frantically tried to play catch-up by staging 12 singles matches -- instead of just four quarter-finals as is the norm -- on day 11 of the sodden championships.
That allowed world number one Djokovic to become the first tennis player to bank $100 million in prize money after his 3-6 6-4 6-1 7-5 win over Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut tipped him over the magic number.
Having won a match that was originally scheduled for Monday, begun on Tuesday and completed on Wednesday, the 29-year-old Serb will have to play four days in succession if he is to reach Sunday's title showdown.
"I have the feeling I played three matches against him," a grinning Djokovic told the crowd after donning a yellow rain hat during his victory speech.
"Yesterday the match was interrupted three times and it wasn't easy coming here at 9 am and leaving at 7.30 or 8:00 pm.
"So that's the reason why we should have the roof here," added the Serb, who joined the likes of golfer Tiger Woods and boxer Lennox Lewis in the $100 million club.
However, rather than getting worked up about the French Open not having any court cover like the other three majors, it was the organisers' decision to make the players compete in misty rain on Tuesday that overshadowed Wednesday's on-court action.
Serena Williams, who like Djokovic was bogged down in the fourth round for more than 48 hours, booked her place in the quarter-finals by walloping Ukrainian 18th seed Elina Svitolina 6-1 6-1. She will next face Kazakhstan's Yulia Putintseva.
In the bottom half of the men's draw, Andy Murray doused some early fireworks from Frenchman Richard Gasquet to win 5-7 7-6(3) 6-0 6-2 to set up a blockbuster semi-final against holder Stan Wawrinka. The Swiss beat Albert Ramos (Spain) 6-2 6-1 7-6(7).
RAIN PLAY STILL A HOT TOPIC
But the hot topic of the day remained what the organisers did, or did not do, on Tuesday.
Djokovic's victim Bautista Agut said officials had "pushed us to play two hours yesterday" -- the threshold needed to avoid reimbursing money to ticket-holders -- while Venus Williams labelled the conditions "really bad" after being ambushed 6-2 6-4 by Switzerland's Timea Bacsinszky.
"The conditions were not playable yesterday. It's hard to see. The balls are wet, the courts are wet," said the American, whose defeat ended hopes of an all-Williams semi-final.
French Open director Guy Forget defended the tournament's actions.
"I understand that not refunding spectators .... has caused frustration and anger," he said.
"If what we are being accused of were true, it would have been in our best interests to stop play before the one-hour, 59-minute mark as our insurer would have been responsible for ticket reimbursement.
"However... our aim was to play for as long as possible, even if that meant being criticised for playing in difficult conditions."
Djokovic will be hoping he does not face another soggy day on Thursday when he is scheduled to contest his 28th successive major quarter-final against Czech seventh seed Tomas Berdych, a 6-3 7-5 6-3 winner over 2013 runner-up David Ferrer.
Austrian tyro Dominic Thiem was enjoying his most successful run at a grand slam after beating Spaniard Marcel Granollers 6-2 6-7(2) 6-1 6-4 to set up a last-eight clash with Belgian David Goffin.
Venus Williams' eighth-seeded conqueror Bacsinszky, describing herself as "a chameleon" who can adapt to "every type of court", will next face Dutch outsider Kiki Bertens who downed American 15th seed Madison Keys 7-6(4) 6-3.
Already in the semi-finals though are Spanish fourth seed Garbine Muguruza and 2011 U.S. Open champion Sam Stosur.
Fourth seed Muguruza ended the run of 108th-ranked American Shelby Rogers with a 7-5 6-3 win, while 2010 Paris finalist Stosur beat Bulgaria's Tsvetana Pironkova 6-4 7-6(6).

Gbenga Ogunbote resigned has the head coach of expelled Giwa FC

Gbenga Ogunbote resigns as Giwa FC coach

Giwa FC head coach, Gbenga Ogunbote has stepped down from his post as the head coach of expelled Giwa FC.

The former sunshine stars and sharks tactician didn't disclose his reasons for taking the decision but sources closed to Goal revealed he left the club to protect his integrity.

Ogunbote's led Giwa FC struggled in the first stanza of the Nigeria Professional Football League, and as well expelled from the league by the League Management Company due to the  failure of the club to honour 3 consecutive league games.

Sources have suggested that his next move might be Akwa Utd or Shooting Stars of Ibadan.

Abimbola Lawal, Ogunbote's assistant also tendered his resignation letter.

Professional boxers permitted to compete at Rio Games

Professional boxers will compete at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics after the international boxing association AIBA approved a constitutional change on Wednesday, its president said.

AIBA boss Ching-Kuo Wu said the change of the AIBA constitution was approved with 95 percent in favour - 84 of 88 voting members - paving the way for professionals to fight for medals for the first time at the Olympics starting on August 5.

"We approved it and now they can compete," he told Reuters.

Some 26 Olympic sports will be up for grabs when fighters competes in Venezuela next month.

with a total of 286 boxers -- 236 men and 50 women set to compete in Rio's boxing events.

AIBA spokesman Nicolas Jomard said there would be no wild cards, with the age limit at 40 for the athletes.

The move has drawn considerable criticism as many argue it would be unfair to amateur boxers who have trained for the Games for years and may now have to make way for the professionals.

Former world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, who as an amateur won gold at the 1981 and 1982 Junior Olympic Games, has branded the move "ridiculous".

"It's ridiculous, it's foolish, and some of the pro fighters are going to get beat by the amateurs. It's just going to happen, I really believe that," the 49-year-old told Reuters last week.

He said the three rounds in the Olympics would work in favor of the amateurs, with professionals used to fighting as many as 12 rounds.

Northern Ireland's Carl Frampton, a former amateur who has won WBA and IBF world title belts at super-bantamweight, was also against allowing professionals into the Olympics.

"They're two different sports. It's like a badminton player playing tennis," he said on Twitter.

Jomard rejected claims of a disparity.

"There has been a lot of talk about disparity of level," Jomard said. "But it is not true."

He said professionals would just need to adapt to a different set of rules that was Olympic boxing.

"Olympic boxing has existed for decades and it is for them (professionals) to adapt and not the other way around. Why should we adapt for a minority?"

"We are acting for the Olympic legacy of boxing. This is not just a one-off thing."

Under Wu's leadership, AIBA set up the semi-professional World Series Boxing (WSB) in 2011 in which fighters earned money competing for city-based teams. He also introduced women's boxing at the Olympics in London in 2012.

Some of those WSB boxers have already secured places at the Rio Games.

Amateur boxing has had its share of Olympic champions who have gone on to become top professionals, among them Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Lennox Lewis, Oscar De La Hoya and Vladimir Klitschko.