Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone has defended the highly controversial decision to reinstate the Bahrain Grand Prix into the 2011 world championship calendar.

The Grand Prix was initially postponed from its original season-opening date in March due to political turmoil and civil unrest in the Gulf state.

Roland Garros warhorses Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer will meet in a fourth French Open final on Sunday after dramatic but convincing semi-final wins on Friday.

Nadal moved to within one win of equaling Bjorn Borg's record of six Paris titles with a hard-fought 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 semi-final win over a battling Andy Murray on Friday.

Francesca Schiavone of Italy will defend her French Open title at Roland Garros on Saturday against China's Li Na in a tantalizing clash of style between two veterans of the courts.

The finalists are a combined 60 years, 79 days in age, making it the oldest women's Grand Slam final since Wimbledon in 1998, when Jana Novotna beat Nathalie Tauziat.

China's Li Na shattered Maria Sharapova's dream of completing a set of Grand Slam titles by defeating the double-fault prone Russian 6-4, 7-5 in the French Open semi-finals on Thursday.

In so doing, Li made it back-to back Grand Slam finals for her and she gets another crack at becoming the first player from China to win a major title after losing to Kim Clijsters at the Australian Open at the start of the year.

The head of Germany's football federation, Theo Zwanziger, called Wednesday for FIFA to re-examine the awarding of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar over bribery allegations.

"I think there is a significant degree of suspicion that one cannot just dismiss," Zwanziger told ZDF public television when asked about calls for the sport's world governing body to take away the event from Qatar.

Roger Federer believes the pressure will all be on Novak Djokovic when the pair meets in the French Open semi-finals on Friday.

Victory for Djokovic, the second seed, will see him replace Rafael Nadal as world number one, while he would also equal John McEnroe's 1984 record of 42 matches unbeaten at the start of a season.

FIFA faced fresh calls for sweeping reform Tuesday despite denials from President Sepp Blatter that football's corruption-tainted governing body was in crisis.

The 'lucky' sweater worn by Germany coach Joachim Loew at the 2010 World Cup is heading to the country's football museum.

The German football federation says the blue V-neck garment will be one of the exhibits when the museum opens in Dortmund in 2014.

Novak Djokovic had a successful day off from tennis Monday, reaching the semifinals of the French Open when his quarterfinal opponent withdrew because of injury.

Fabio Fognini, who injured a muscle in his left leg while beating Albert Montanes on Sunday, announced Monday that he would not be able to play Djokovic, who is 41-0 in 2011 and has won 43 straight matches overall.

Lionel Messi may have been the inspiration behind Barcelona's 3-1 demolition of Manchester United in Saturday's Champions League final, but the achievement of coach Pep Guardiola off the field cannot be understated.

After a season with Barca?s youth side as his only real coaching experience he took on the demanding role of first team trainer in 2008 and has since won three league titles on the trot.