Li Na's stunning French Open victory barged down yet another door for sport in Asia, whose athletes are enjoying a growing presence on the world stage.

From tennis to golf, football and the Olympics, sportsmen and women from the diverse and increasingly wealthy region are showing they can not only mix it with European and American stars, but win -- and do so repeatedly.

Rafael Nadal won a 10th Grand Slam crown and equaled Bjorn Borg's record of six French Open titles when he defeated Roger Federer 7-5, 7-6 (7/3), 5-7, 6-1 on Sunday in the rivals' latest epic duel.

Top seed Nadal, who was also champion in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2010, took his overall Paris record to 45 wins against just one defeat and victory also meant he hangs on to his world number one spot.

Li Na made sporting history at the French Open on Saturday when she became the first player from China to win a Grand Slam singles title.

The 29-year-old from Wuhan defeated defending champion Francesca Schiavone of Italy 6-4, 7-6 (7/0) to take her place in the pantheon of Chinese sports stars.

Novak Djokovic said he knew his 43-match winning run would have to end, but insisted that his heartbreaking French Open semi-final defeat to a rejuvenated Roger Federer will make him stronger.

Djokovic suffered a stunning 7-6 (7/5), 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7/5) loss to Federer which ended his hopes of making a first Roland Garros final and temporarily halted his bid to snatch the world number one spot.

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.