Rafael Nadal wins French open record for the seventh time

An emotional Nadal clutches his seventh French Open trophy.

Rafael Nadal clinched a record seventh French Open title on Monday, defeating world number one Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 and shattering the Serb's dream of Grand Slam history.In a fractious final pushed into a third week for only the second time because of Sunday's rain, the Spanish world number two, playing in his 16th Grand Slam final, also took his Paris record to a staggering 52 wins against just one loss.Victory, which was achieved on a Djokovic double fault, allowed him to break the tie for six French Opens he shared with Bjorn Borg.It was the 26-year-old's 11th Grand Slam title, taking him one behind Roy Emerson, three off Pete Sampras and five away from the record of 16 held by Roger Federer.For five-time major winner Djokovic, the Wimbledon, US Open and Australian Open champion, it was the end of his dream of emulating Don Budge (1938) and Rod Laver (1962 and 1969) by holding all the Grand Slams at once.He was left to regret his unforced error count of 53 which undermined his challenge.After Sunday's suspension, the players, meeting in a fourth successive Grand Slam final, resumed with Nadal leading 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 1-2, but with Djokovic in the ascendancy and serving for a 3-1 lead in the fourth set.But a forehand error from Djokovic, with the court at his mercy, gave Nadal a break point and the Spaniard seized it when the Serb had been left flat-footed by a net cord which allowed his opponent to push through a winner.The set remained tight as would be expected with the pair meeting for a 33rd time.Nadal moved to 5-4 as the umbrellas went up all around Philippe Chatrier Court and the players sat courtside to wait out a passing, heavy shower and complained to tournament referee Stefan Fransen about the slippery conditions.Djokovic finally buckled when a monster forehand from Nadal set up championship point which he converted when the top seed tamely served up a fourth double fault.The celebrations were ecstatic as Nadal fell to his knees and consoled Djokovic before the champion climbed into the player's box to embrace his family.On Sunday, Djokovic had looked down and out at one stage, even picking up a warning for destroying his courtside chair box with his racquet.After slipping two sets down, he was also a break behind at 0-2 in the third before he reeled off eight games in succession to take the third set -- the first lost by Nadal in this year's event -- and lead 2-0 in the fourth.The first game of the fourth set had featured a gruelling 44-shot rally.But Nadal had raged at tournament referee Stefan Fransen for having to keep playing as the court became increasingly treacherous.

As he stormed, Djokovic, who had been two sets to love down to Andreas Seppi in the fourth round, and saved four match points in his quarter-final victory over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, seized his chance to get back into the match.The last time a French Open men's final failed to be completed on the last Sunday was 1973 when it was played on the Tuesday with Ilie Nastase beating Niki Pilic.Monday finishes have become common at the US Open in New York with the last four finals taking place on the extra day while the 2001 Wimbledon final was also completed on a Monday.Roland Garros will eventually avoid late finishes as a main court with a retractable roof is to be built in 2017.

Match-Day 3 Euro 2012 : Croatia 3-1 Republic Of Ireland In Group C

Croatia Secured A great Victory Over The Irish-Mens , After 24 years of waiting, it wasn’t supposed to be like this for the Republic of Ireland, but a calamitous night for Shay Given and sense of refereeing injustice could not mask Croatia’s majestic dominance in Poznan.On their first appearance at the European Championships since 1988, Ireland surrendered their record of never having lost an opening game in a major tournament.The tale of woe included a Given mistake and second-half own goal, a hotly-disputed Croatia strike and referee Bjorn Kuipers’ failure to award Ireland a penalty when Robbie Keane was fouled by centre-half Gordon Schildenfeld on 63 minutes.But before Ireland begin to place Kuipers next to Thierry Henry in their football Hall of Shame, the reality is that they were outplayed and out-thought by a Croatia team who look capable of denying Group C rivals Spain or Italy a place in the knock-out stages.For all the pre-tournament talk of Ireland’s 14-game unbeaten run - a sequence dating back to a friendly defeat against Uruguay in Dublin in March 2011 - and the absence of a competitive loss away from home on Trapattoni’s record with the Irish, this was the true test of their mettle.Ten years since their last appearance at a major tournament, and twenty-four since Ireland’s only appearance at the European Championships, the rarefied atmosphere that accompanies football at this level appeared to take Irish breath away, with Croatia scoring through Mario Mandzukic inside the opening three minutes.Perhaps the carnival atmosphere inside the Stadion Miejski, which was a sea of green save for a defiant corner of 8,000 Croatians, took Irish eyes off the ball because Mandzukic’s goal was certainly preventable.After midfielder Keith Andews had conceded a second minute corner, Ireland simply failed to clear the ball and Croatia were allowed to camp inside the 18-yard box.The ball darted between green shirts until full-back Darijo Srna broke down the right channel and pulled back for Mandzukic, who managed to head goalwards despite stumbling into the ball.The Wolfsburg forward’s header looped towards goal and goalkeeper Shay Given, possibly displaying ring-rust after an injury-affected week of training, allowed the effort to bounce into the net with his ponderous dive failing to stop the ball.It was the worst possible start for Ireland. Trapattoni’s game-plan, aimed at stifling the Croatians and hitting them on the break, was now redundant and his team faced chasing the game against opponents capable of cutting them to shreds with the ball.The badhrain continued to beat, however, and the massed ranks of Irish supporters encouraged their team forward.Damien Duff sent a 20-yard strike wide of goal and Andrews saw a free-kick blocked by the Croatian wall before a clumsy foul by Vedran Corluka on Kevin Doyle gifted Ireland the set-piece from which they equalised in the nineteenth minute.If his foul on Doyle wasn’t enough, Tottenham defender Corluka then gave Ireland another helping hand by losing St Ledger at the far post, enabling the centre-half to score with a diving header.There was a delayed reaction to St Ledger’s goal, with an audible whistle sound catching the crowd off guard, but once reality dawned, it appeared as though the whole of Poznan and the surrounding region of Wielkopolska had cheered the goal.Croatia remained a threat, though, and if Given was at fault for the opener, he made up for it with a full-stretch save to keep out Ivan Perisic’s dipping 25-yard volley on 22 minutes.he Aston Villa goalkeeper was helpless to prevent Jelavic from restoring Croatia’s lead two minutes before half-time, however.Luka Modric’s shot struck Glenn Whelan on the edge of the penalty area, before Stephen Ward’s sliced clearance fell to Jelavic 12 yards from goal.The Everton forward had been stood in an offside position when Modric shot, but Dutch referee Bjorn Kuipers judged him not to be interfering with play.Irish protests were forceful, but the goal stood to leave Ireland with a second-half mountain to climb.Ireland’s sense of injustice continued to burn throughout the half-time break, with Trapattoni and Keane berating referee Kuipers in the tunnel about the decision to allow Jelavic’s goal to stand.It was a pointless exercise. Kuipers had made the correct decision, however painful it may have been to Ireland, but by harping on about the goal, the Irish allowed themselves to lose focus.Nothing affects concentration like red mist and Croatia made Ireland pay within four minutes of the re-start by extending their lead and putting the game beyond the Irish.Once again, Ireland allowed Croatia to score from a cross, but Mandzukic’s header from Perisic’s cross hit post, only to bounce into the net off Given’s back.It was a bitter blow for the goalkeeper and Ireland, one exacerbated by Keane’s unsuccessful appeal for a penalty, but Croatia deserved their victory.Ireland’s task now is daunting. To avoid elimination, they must sink Spain on Thursday in the shadow of the shipyards in Gdansk and that is some task.

Match-day 3 Of Euro 2012 Group C : Spain 1-1 Italy

The Champions Of Europe Spain Were Held 1-1 Against The Italian Defence As Di Natale Scored In 61st Minute But Fabregas Replied Quickly In 64th Minute.Spain complained the Gdansk pitch was too dry and slow after the world and European champions were held to a 1-1 draw by Italy in their Uefa Euro 2012™ Group C opener on Sunday.Against a well-organised Italian side, the Spanish struggled to get their zippy passing game going on a surface that appeared heavy and officials were out mowing the grass immediately after the match."A pitch that is so dry does not do football or the spectators many favours," Spain coach Vicente del Bosque told a news conference at which he also praised the Italian performance."If the pitch had been a bit quicker it would have been better for both teams and a better match," he added.Spain needed a 64th-minute Cesc Fabregas equaliser to rescue a point after substitute Antonio Di Natale had fired Italy ahead four minutes earlier.Spanish forward Fernando Torres, who squandered two chances to snatch a winner after coming on for the last 15 minutes, said the team had "complained a lot" to organisers about the dryness of the grass before kickoff.Man-of-the-match Andres Iniesta also added his voice to the criticism."In the end they (Italy) were able to benefit a lot from the pitch," Torres said in an interview with Spanish television.Iniesta added: "I think that for the spectator a pitch in good condition is always better."