His name is better known in connection with the exploits of Rafael Nadal and Bjorn Borg, but Roland Garros excelled in a world thousands of feet above the clay-covered courts of Paris which bear his name.

There will be no shortage of militaristic language used to accompany this weekend's French Open finals, but battle was no metaphor for Garros, an expert aviator who has become famous for his bravery.

World Cup organizers have fretted for a year over the possibility that a resurgence of mass anti-government protests could mar soccer's premiere event.

Yet in recent weeks Brazil's public sector has become the main worry. A series of strikes by public transport workers, police, teachers and others across the country is proving more disruptive than protests, and some fear they could cause chaos during the tournament that begins in a week.

Germany's World Cup injury problems are receding ahead of Friday's friendly against Armenia, the team's last game before departing for Brazil.

Coach Joachim Loew announced that goalkeeper Manuel Neuer will not face Armenia "because we don't want to take any risks" but that he will be fit for Germany's opening game against Portugal on June 16. Neuer has been laboring with a shoulder injury.

FIFA investigator Michael Garcia has met Qatari officials as part of a corruption probe into the vote which gave the Gulf state the 2022 World Cup.

The meeting on Wednesday went ahead in Oman as UEFA president Michel Platini added his voice to calls for a new vote if corruption is proved.

French coach Sebastien Desabre says he can rescue Tunisian club Esperance this weekend after a disastrous start to the CAF Champions League group phase.

The two-time African title-holders were favourites to win Group B, but are bottom of the table after matchday 2 following two shock losses.

Australia will send its biggest-ever track and field team to a championships outside its shores at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games next month.

The 103-strong squad, headlined by Olympic and world 100m hurdles champion Sally Pearson, includes 44 athletes making their major championships debut and 12 para-athletes.

Spanish World Cup winner David Villa will play a guest stint at newly branded Melbourne City for Australia's A-League next season, the club said on Thursday.

Villa, unveiled by Major League Soccer club New York City as its inaugural player this week, will take the field for Melbourne between October and December this year prior to the start of the American season.

Rafael Nadal won Olympic gold in Beijing in 2008 but faces a new challenge when he returns to the Chinese capital later this year -- beating the city's traffic jams to get to the Great Wall.

The world number one will play the ATP tournament, which he won in 2005, in September but is desperate to see the famed Chinese landmark after being thwarted when he was last in the country in 2013.

If you're intending to score in a World Cup match, should you score the night before?

It's a question that prompts coaches to set rules, players to seek understanding from wives and lovers, and fans everywhere to debate fervently, with many adamantly believing that abstaining from sex improves performance on the field.

Greece and Nigeria battled to a scoreless draw Tuesday in an international friendly match that served as a World Cup warm-up for both teams.

Greece had their fair share of chances, but couldn't get past Nigeria goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama, who made a superb double save on Georgios Samaras and Dimitris Salpingidis in the 8rd minute.