French Open

An 18-year rivalry will play out its next gripping chapter at Roland Garros as Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic eye up a French Open final in which milestones galore will be on the line.

Novak Djokovic had 100 million reasons to celebrate reaching the French Open quarter-finals, albeit two days later than expected, as players finally cleared the fourth-round backlog created by the fickle Parisian weather.

Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams barely got their shoes dusty at the French Open but two of the top five women's seeds went out and Andy Murray survived the first round by the skin of his teeth.

Maria Sharapova has claimed her second French Open title by flooring Romanian fourth seed Simona Halep 6-4 6-7(5) 6-4 in a marathon final encounter.

The belated appearance of the blazing sun at what had been a cold and chilly French Open allowed Rafa Nadal to scorch past Andy Murray and set up a hotly-anticipated final with Novak Djokovic.

She once posed for a photograph with an eight-year-old Eugenie Bouchard but that friendly touch was not on show as Maria Sharapova wiped the smile off the Canadian's face to set up a French Open final with Simona Halep.

Roger Federer suffered his earliest defeat at the French Open for a decade when he lost to Latvian Ernests Gulbis in the fourth round, but Novak Djokovic made light work of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to reach the quarter-finals in a flash.

Rafa Nadal provided a claycourt lesson for one of the game's young apprentices at the French Open when he crushed rising Austrian Dominic Thiem with a masterly display to reach the third round.

Serena Williams was caught cold at the French Open by a Spanish 20-year-old who trounced the defending champion 6-2 6-2 in the second round to provide the shock of the tournament.

Novak Djokovic played the funny man as he slithered to a 6-1 6-2 6-4 win over Portugal's Joao Sousa on a rain-interrupted second day at the French Open but defending champion Rafa Nadal slipped into his customary role of cold-eyed assassin on clay.

Serena Williams proved an irresistible force once more as she powered past Maria Sharapova 6-4 6-4 to win the French Open for the second time - 11 years after her first triumph.

Rafa Nadal displayed the athleticism and self-belief that earned him seven French Open titles to tame Novak Djokovic 6-4 3-6 6-1 6-7(3) 9-7 in a pulsating 4-1/2 hour Roland Garros semi-final.

There was a sense of anti-climax as David Ferrer brushed aside local favourite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-1 7-6(3) 6-2 to reach his first grand slam final and set up an all-Spanish French Open final with seven-time champion Rafa Nadal.

Maria Sharapova turned her French Open semi-final into a game of Russian roulette, firing winners and ugly shots with equal measure as the champion bludgeoned her way past third seed Victoria Azarenka 6-1 2-6 6-4.

It was the same old story as seven-time champion Rafa Nadal turned claycourt machine once again with a 6-2 6-3 6-1 demolition of Swiss ninth seed Stanislas Wawrinka in the French Open quarter-finals.

All the complaints about lousy weather, windy courts and rotten schedules were forgotten as the sun finally shone on birthday boy Rafa Nadal's pursuit of a record eighth French Open title.

Novak Djokovic had a simple solution to the rain showers that continued to play havoc at the French Open but the weather got the better of former women's champion Li Na, whose hopes were sunk at a soggy Roland Garros.

A quintet of Frenchmen led a home procession at Roland Garros but Roger Federer still threatens to rain on their parade after sauntering into the third round of the French Open.