Rafael Nadal admitted he feared he might never break John Isner's huge serve, after coming through a thrilling five-set match against the American to reach the French Open second round.

The defending champion and top seed, bidding for a record-equalling sixth Roland Garros crown, was staring down the barrel of a shock elimination after allowing Isner to establish a 2-1 sets lead.

Novak Djokovic took his unbeaten record in 2011 to 38 wins on Monday before Grand Slam king Roger Federer demonstrated to the unstoppable Serb that he is still a French Open force.

Second seed Djokovic enjoyed a 6-2, 6-1, 6-3 dismissal of hapless Dutchman Thiemo De Bakker in the first round before 16-time Grand Slam title-winner Federer romped to a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) win over Spain's Feliciano Lopez.

Barcelona's two-time world player of the year Lionel Messi has dismissed suggestions that Manchester United lack the quality of previous squads ahead of the two sides' Champions League final on Saturday in London.

The match will be a repeat of the 2009 final in Rome when Barcelona beat Manchester United 2-0, with Messi scoring the second goal.

A day after the tournament began, the French Open is really about to get started.

The opening day at Roland Garros featured 32 matches on eight courts, with three seeded players already falling by the wayside.

From the moment Carlo Ancelotti discovered that his trusted assistant Ray Wilkins had been sacked without his knowledge, the Chelsea manager knew he was on borrowed time at Stamford Bridge.

Ancelotti was sacked by Chelsea on Sunday less than two hours after his side concluded a disappointing season with a 1-0 defeat at Everton.

World number one Rafael Nadal has a record-equalling sixth French Open in his sights, but the Spaniard believes undefeated Novak Djokovic will start Roland Garros as title favorite.

Something has got to give over the next two weeks.

The African Champions League play-off between Wydad Casablanca of Morocco and Simba of Tanzania will be staged in Cairo on May 28, the organisers said Friday.

Wydad and Simba lost in the qualifying competition to defending champions TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo, who were disqualified last weekend for fielding an ineligible player.

Australian Mark Webber topped the times for the Red Bull team in Friday's opening practice session for Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix.

The 34-year-old, who won last year's race here, clocked a best time of one minute and 25.142 seconds to finish the session a second clear of his team-mate and defending world champion Sebastian Vettel of Germany.

Manchester United are in transfer talks with relegated French side Lens in a bid to sign defender Raphael Varane, The Guardian reported on Thursday.

Varane, 18, is regarded as one of the most promising young defenders in French football and has been watched by Sir Alex Ferguson's scouts on several occasions this season, the paper reported.

Former two-time world champion Fernando Alonso has extended his contract with Ferrari until the end of the 2016 season, the Italian Formula One stable announced Thursday.

Spaniard Alonso, who won the driver's titles in 2005 and 2006 with Renault, said: "I am very happy to have reached this agreement. I immediately felt comfortable within Ferrari and now it feels to me like a second family.