Paris, June 6
Rafael Nadal's win over Roger Federer in the French Open final will reignite the age-old debate about who is the greatest player of all time. Both men are scathing of any such comparisons, but that will not stop the arguments which are set to escalate as Federer, approaching 30, enters the twilight of his career and 25-year-old Nadal, fitness permitting, enters the prime of his.

The Spaniard's thrilling four sets win at Roland Garros means he now has 10 Grand Slam titles, with six French Opens, two Wimbledons, and one apiece at the US and Australian Opens.

He is now in sixth equal place on the all-time list level with 1920s American star Bill Tilden and just one behind legends Rod Laver and Bjorn Borg. More pertinently he is now just six Grand Slam titles shy of the record currently held by Federer, who is five years older.

Having proved that he can play well and win on all surfaces, Nadal looks set to at least match Federer's total which would give him a statistical argument to claim he is the best player ever. Not that it seems to matter much to the player himself.

"When you talk about these statistics, when you try and make these comparisons, really it's not very interesting to me," he said.

"I'm very happy with what I have, with who I am. I'm not the best player in the history of tennis. I think I'm amongst the best. That's true. That's enough for me." Sentiments echoed by Federer, who long laid siege to Pete Sampras' record of 14 Grand Slam titles which he equalled with his crucial win in the 2009 French Open and then followed up by winning at Wimbledon the same year and at the Australian Open in 2010.

Who cares where you stand," he said. "It's when it's over that you can't do anything any longer, that's when you're proud of what you accomplished.

"That's why I'm happy for him (Nadal) that he's won these Grand Slams and these tournaments. He can prove to people that he can play a good type of tennis. This is what counts."

If both men are unwilling to enter the debate, they certainly are acutely aware of the intensity of their rivalry, one of the greatest in the history of any sport. To date the two have met an incredible 25 times, 14 of these on clay, since a teenage Nadal shocked Federer in straight sets on the Miami hardcourts in early 2004.

The Swiss star grabbed his first win over the Spaniard at the same tournament the following year when he bounced back from two sets to love down to win.

But since then it is Nadal who has dominated their head-to-heads and he now stands at 17-8 with a Grand Slam finals record of 6-2 against his arch-rival. Despite the arrival of Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Juan Martin del Potro at the topmost level of the sport, Nadal and Federer both agree that in any tournament their greatest adversary is the other.

That rivalry will now switch over to London where Nadal will try to defend his Wimbledon crown with six-times former winner Federer desperate to equal the seven titles won by his great idol Sampras. "That's obviously the huge priority right now, to win Wimbledon in a few weeks' time. That's always, for me, the number one goal in the season," Federer said. — AFP

Port of Spain, June 6
Parthiv Patel is resigned to the fact that he would only be India's second best wicketkeeper as long as Mahendra Singh Dhoni is around, but far from being frustrated, he considers it as a motivation to continue. "You play the game because you want to turn out in India's colours. That has always been a huge motivation," Parthiv said on the eve of India's first ODI against the West Indies at the Queen's Park Oval.

After an impressive start to his international career in 2002, things suddenly went wrong for the cherubic 26-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman. But years of toil in the domestic circuit and advices from seniors and friends helped Parthiv find his bearings.

"I received great help from (Kiran) More sir, Anshuman Gaekwad and of course Dhoni. It's been beneficial to see how Dhoni goes about his work. The best lesson watching him is to notice how relaxed he is," Parthiv said of India's regular skipper.

Johannesburg, June 6
Gary Kirsten, who guided India to the Cricket World Cup title two months ago, was named coach of his native South Africa MondayThe 43-year-old former Proteas opening batsman will have the official title of head coach and team director and be assisted by ex-South Africa fast bowler Allan Donald and Eastern Cape Warriors handler Russell Domingo.

Kirsten succeeds Corrie van Zyl, whose caretaker role since early last year after Mickey Arthur quit came to an end when New Zealand shocked South Africa in the World Cup quarterfinals.

His first challenges will be a multi-format home series against arch-rivals Australia from October and Sri Lanka are also scheduled to play in South Africa this year.

A Cricket South Africa media conference also announced that batsman-cum-wicketkeeper AB de Villiers will become one-day and Twenty20 skipper while opening batsman Graeme Smith continues as Test captain.

Kirsten had no formal coaching experience beyond running a Cape Town academy when he was surprisingly put in charge of Sachin Tendulkar and his fellow Indian superstars.

The reign reached a perfect climax before a sell-out 33,000 crowd at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai as India defeated Sri Lanka by six wickets in the World Cup final.

Taking charge of the Proteas is the culmination of a dream for Kirsten, whose 101 Test appearances between 1993 and 2004 produced 7,289 runs, 21 centuries and a highest score of 275 against England in Durban.

"I would love to coach the South African team -- it's my people. It will be a natural progression. I would consider it a massive honour," he said ahead of an appointment widely predicted by the media for several weeks.

Donald, nicknamed 'White Lightning' during a 72-Test career that reaped 330 wickets because of his fearsome pace, brings a wealth of international experience having been bowling coach of England and New Zealand.

Domingo rose through the ranks, coaching South Africa at under-19 and 'A' level while handling the Warriors in his native Port Elizabeth for the past six years. Australia arrive in October for a tour comprising two Tests, three ODIs and two Twenty20 games and Sri Lanka land two months later to play three Tests and five one-day internationals. — AFP 

Kolkata, June 6
It's good news for football-crazy fans of the city as Argentine superstar Lionel Messi and his teammates are playing a FIFA official international friendly match against Venezuela at Salt Lake's Yuba Bharati Krirangan on September 2. After rounds of rumour, the official confirmation came today when Celebrity Management Group along with the state government, All India Football Federation and Indian Football Association announced this at a press conference today.

"The Argentina Football Association had indeed signed a contract to bring in the full-strength squad including Messi and Carlos Tevez among others. So the contract guarantees their participation," said Bhaswar Goswami of CMG.

The city-based sports management firm that had earlier brought football legend Diego Maradona in 2008 would also organise another international friendly match between Argentina and Nigeria in Dhaka on September 6.

"We were given the match in condition that we have to buy another. We did not think twice and bought both the matches just to make Messi play in Kolkata," Goswami said. The Barcelona star forward and winner of the FIFA Ballon d'Or award was recently instrumental in his club's Champions League win. Giving a brief detail about the itinerary, he said Messi and Co. would stay here for four days, beginning August 30.

"We are also planning several other events which will be announced later. We are thinking of a minimum ticket price of Rs 1000 — about $20, a nominal price compared to the ticket prices in other international friendlies."

"Those who could not afford to make the match, we would give them another chance for both the teams practice sessions the tickets of which would be at a cheaper price," Goswami added.

West Bengal sports minister Madan Mitra said he is getting full support from the chief minister. "The stadium is completely in a mess. The garbage there has been piled up for 34 years. We are leaving no stone unturned to make the stadium international match-worthy," he said. — PTI 

Melbourne, June 6
Cricket Australia is among the country's sports bodies which will meet government ministers to discuss a legislation that proposes 10-year jails term for match-fixers here, on Friday.

Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland is chairman of Coalition of Major Professional and Participation Sports (COMPPS), which will present a working party paper on corruption to Sports Minister Mark Arbib on Wednesday.

CA's chief legal counsel Dean Kino is part of the team which has drafted the proposal. "There's a meeting on Wednesday of sporting CEOs in Melbourne, they have a regular CEOs meeting, but here, the working party paper on corruption in sport will be tabled," a CA spokesman was quoted as saying by the local media here.

"The federal minister for sport Mark Arbib will also be present. There's been quite a lot of discussion between James Sutherland and Mark Arbib and the other CEOs, and a meeting will follow on Friday between government ministers," he added.

COMPPS' executive director is former ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed. Arbib has suggested 10 years in jail as punishment for match-fixers in sports. — PTI

Dallas, June 6
Chris Bosh scored a tie-breaking jump shot with 39.6 seconds left, as the Miami Heat held on for a 88-86 win over the Dallas Mavericks in game three of the NBA finals.

Chris Bosh #1 of the Miami Heat attempts a shot against Ian Mahinmi of the Dallas Mavericks in Game Three of the NBA Finals at American Airlines Center in Dallas on Sunday. — AFP

Dwyane Wade finished with 29 points and 11 rebounds, LeBron James scored 17 points and Mario Chalmers came off the bench to score 12 for the Heat, who took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. "I have confidence in my shot and my teammates have confidence in me too," said Bosh. "I just have to let it go."

Miami, who at one stage led by 14 points in the first half, had to toil for their victory as the Mavericks rallied for the second dramatic finish in a row. Wade got the ball in the final minute and was able to run the clock down before passing to Bosh, who made the 16 foot jumper with just 39 second remaining in front of a sellout crowd of 20,340 at the American Airlines Center arena.

Game four is on Tuesday in Dallas. Bosh took a finger in the eye from Jason Kidd in the first quarter, but said after the game that he was ok. "We'll spit on it and put a Band-Aid on it and patch it up later," said Bosh, who is the Toronto Raptors all-time leading scorer. — Reuters

New Delhi, June 6
Chandan Madan slammed a strokeful century to star in Air-India's two-wicket victory over Vidya Jain Academy in the 35th Lala Raghubir Singh Prize Money Hot Weather cricket tournament at the Modern School ground here today. Chandan was adjudged the Reebok man of the match.

Scores: Vidya Jain Academy: 241 (Joginder Singh 105, Karan Negi 39, Rizwan 3 for 32, Sonu Sharma 3 for 31). Air-India: 242 for 8 (Chandan Madan 100, Deepak Joon 45, Sparsh Jain 3 for 30).

In the second match, Food Corporation of India defeated Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association by four wickets. Scores: HPCA: 202 for 8 (Manan Sharma 42, Varun Sharma 34, Amit Mishra 2 for 39, Yogesh 2 for 29). FCI: 205 for 6 (Paras Dogra 43, Rajinder Bisht 38 not out, Rohit Saini 39, Rishi Dhawan 2 for 4).