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Novak Djokovic plays Casper Ruud in Roland Garros men’s showpiece
Novak Djokovic says he is relishing the chance to make tennis history as he aims to become the first man to win 23 Grand Slam titles.
Djokovic, 36, faces Norway’s Casper Ruud, 24, in the men’s singles final at the French Open today (11). A victory would take the Serb clear of Rafael Nadal’s total of 22 wins.
“I like the feeling, it’s an incredible privilege to be able to make history in the sport I truly love and has given me so much,” Djokovic said. “The motivation is very high, as you can imagine. There is one more to go to hopefully get my hands on the trophy. “I have put myself in another really ideal position to win a Grand Slam.
“That’s basically what still drives me when I wake up in the morning and think about things I want to achieve. The Grand Slams are what drives me the most.”
Another victory would give Djokovic his third French Open title and he would also become the first man to win each of the four Grand Slam tournaments at least three times.
“I’ve been very fortunate that most of the matches in tournaments I’ve played in the last few years, there is history on the line,” Djokovic said. “As far as all the records that are on the line, again it’s flattering, it’s great, but I need to win. “I’m proud of all my achievements and I try to stay present and in the moment. I know the job is not finished and we have another match.”
Ruud reached the finals of the French Open and the US Open in 2022 but lost on both occasions, against Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz respectively.
At Roland Garros, Ruud won only six games in three sets as Nadal completed a routine 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 victory for his 22nd Grand Slam title.
“Obviously, I would like to try to do better than last year,” Ruud said. “Let’s see if I have learned something from the two previous ones that I played last year. “It’s going to be tough, for sure. He’s playing for his 23rd, I’m playing for my first. So I’m going to just try to play without pressure and just try to enjoy the moment. “That was my mentality last year as well, and it didn’t go my way. “It just feels great to be back in the final. I didn’t think or necessarily believe in the beginning of the tournament I was going to be in the final.”
Djokovic and Ruud have never played each other in a Grand Slam, but have met four times on the ATP Tour, with the Serb winning all the matches and not even dropping a set.
“It is going to be the toughest challenge of the year for me to play Novak,” Ruud added. “Novak has played great this tournament and in the Grand Slams he always raises his level. “I have never beaten him before, so I’m going to have to try to come up with a better game plan. “I know I’m going to have to play my ‘A’ game, my best level I’ve ever played if I want to have a chance against him.”
How they reached the final
Djokovic did not drop a set in the first four rounds, beating Aleksandar Kovacevic of the United States, Marton Fucsovics of Hungary, 29th seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain and Juan Pablo Varillas of Peru.
Russia’s Karen Khachanov, the 11th seed, became the first player to take a set off Djokovic in their quarter-final before the former world number one took the next three sets.
A match with current world number one Carlos Alcaraz followed in the semi-finals and it was set up to be a classic at one set all in a high quality encounter before the 20-year-old Spaniard struggled physically, with Djokovic winning 6-3 5-7 6-1 6-1
Ruud began with a straight-set win over Swedish qualifier Elias Ymer but had to fight back from a set down against both Giulio Zeppieri of Italy in round two and then Zhizhen Zhang of China in the third round.
He saw off Chile’s Nicolas Jarry in the last 16, with his first win over a seed coming with the four-set victory over Denmark’s Holger Rune, the sixth seed, in the quarter-finals.
Ruud made it back-to-back French Open final appearances thanks to a convincing 6-3 6-4 6-0 win over 22nd seed Alexander Zverev of Germany.
(BBC Sports)
The Asian Youth Games gold medallist who has run sub four minutes previously returned a time of 3:55.97 seconds to become the first athlete in his age category at these championships to run the distance under four minutes.
Achintha who has a personal best of 3:53.05 from last year was representing Prince College Ratnapura today.
In another impressive 1,500 m feat Tharushi Abhisheka of Lyceum International School, Wattala established a new meet record in the Under-20 Girls’ 1,500m as she returned a time of 4:34.59 seconds to win.
By the end of the second day of the meet seven new meet records had been established.
D. V. C. de Soysa (of Galewela Central College) Under-16 Boys’ Discus Throw – 55.83m.
D. G. Lahiru Achintha (of Ratnapura Kumara Vidyalaya) Under-18 Boys’ 1,500m – 3:55.97 secs.
W. P. Nethula Induwara (Rahula College, Matara) Under-14 Boys’ 100m – 11.70 seconds
K. V. R. Gayesha (Ira Handa Kotuwa Wewa Maha Vidyalaya, Polonnaruwa) Under-16 Girls’ High Jump – 1.70m
H. M. D. S. Herath (Maris Stella College, Thimbirigaskatuwa) Under-20 Boys’ Long Jump – 7.65m
P. M. Amaya Semindi (Vijitha Central College, Dikwella) Under-14 Girls’ High Jump – 1.58m
A rare pink diamond is going on display in France for the first time since it was stolen almost 100 years ago to the day – the last time it was shown to the public.
The nine-carat, pear-shaped gemstone known as the “Grand Condé” was pilfered in an overnight raid on the Château de Chantilly in October 1926 and concealed in a hollowed-out apple.
The diamond – one of few royal jewels to survive the French Revolution – was recovered a few weeks later when a hungry maid at the hotel in which the thieves were staying took a bite of the apple.
It will once again be on display in the Condé Museum at the Château de Chantilly until 3 January.
The museum’s director Mathieu Deldicque said that while the apple story may sounds far-fetched, it was widely covered by newspapers at the time.
Deldicque has faced questions about whether the exhibition may be tempting fate, especially given the string of heists on European cultural institutions in the past 12 months, including the daring daylight robbery of jewellery from the Louvre museum in Paris.
While he declined to reveal to CNN how much the diamond was insured for, he noted that extensive academic study into the properties of the diamond had taken place to make it uniquely identifiable.
The results of this analysis, as well as previously unseen archive material about the gem’s history and theft, form part of the exhibition, according to the museum.
Naturally occurring pink diamonds are exceptionally rare and often sell for tens of millions of dollars. The highest price ever fetched for one at auction was $71.2m (£53.6m) in 2017, according to Sotheby’s.
The exact origins of the Grand Condé remain a mystery.
It was first mentioned in 1740 in an inventory of Louis Henri de Bourbon, Prince of Condé, drawn up following his death, the Château de Chantilly said.
It then became part of the collection of Queen Marie-Amélie of Bourbon-Sicily, the wife of French King Louis Philippe I, and then her son, Prince Henri of Orléans, the Duke of Aumale.
He bequeathed it to the Institut de France, which now owns the Château de Chantilly, 50km (31 miles) north of Paris, along with thousands of artworks and manuscripts which became the Musée Condé collection.
(BBC)
Sri Lanka’s men begin this match having won an international in the past week. This is more significant than it sounds. Their 2026 has been abysmal, with the team losing 22 matches to the 10 they have won. New captain Kusal Mendis had carried his team to that victory with his 87 not out off 48 balls, after Sri Lanka’s seamers had also had an encouraging outing.
But the game was only a dead rubber, Pakistan having sewn up the T20I series already. Pakistan have hardly been lighting up 2026 either, but they have had substantially more success than Sri Lanka. They had won their most recent ODI series, against Australia, 2-1. In that series, Pakistan may even have discovered a bright young all-round talent, left-arm spinner and lower-order batter Arafat Minhas, who claimed the Player of the Series award for his seven wickets at an average of 12.28. He has been in penetrative form in the past 10 days as well, having claimed five wickets across the three T20Is against Sri Lanka. Against Australia, Pakistan had also had excellent performances from Shaheen Afridi and legspinner Abrar Ahmed. It had, in fact, been Pakistan’s bowlers who dominated in a low-scoring series.
The tri-series is important for all three sides because there is now officially less than 12 months before the World Cup, which is set to begin on October 2 next year. Sri Lanka still have plenty to figure out – their white-ball squads having been in serious flux this year, as a new set of selectors searches (often fruitlessly) for a winning combination. Pakistan have players and stratetgies to trial as well.
In the series against Australia, Babar Azam had top-scored for Pakistan, hitting 40, 16, and 69 to average 41.66 across the matches. No one will call it a return to his heyday, but it was an encouraging sign following a modest run in 2025, in which he averaged 34 across 17 innings. Sri Lanka has been one of his favoured opponents over the years, Babar having struck four of his 20 centuries against them, averaging 58.33. The tracks in Rawalpindi at least are expected to be good for batting. Can he build up some form in the one format he now plays?
Lahiru Udara has reason to feel miffed at the selectors, many think. Having hit 188 against West Indies three Tests ago, he was left out of the squad entirely for the forthcoming Test series. But with Pathum Nissanka having been ruled out of the ODIs through an ongoing hamstring problem, Udara has surged into ODI contention on the back of a good T20I innings last week. At age 32, he knows his chances at this level are numbered. With the World Cup on the horizon, there is perhaps no better format to impress in right now than ODIs.
With neither Sahibzada Farhan nor Maaz Sadaqat in the ODI squad, Saim Ayub and Fakhar Zaman may open.
Pakistan (possible): Saim Ayub, Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Nawaz, Babar Azam, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan, Ghazi Ghouri (wk), Minhas Arafat, Shaheen Afridi (capt.), Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah
Sri Lanka may bring Avishka Fernando straight into the XI, with Kamil Mishara having had a run of modest scores. Sri Lanka also have some decisions to make on the spin-bowling front, although they are likely to favour Maheesh Theekshana over legspinner Sachindu Colombage.
Sri Lanka (possible): Lahiru Udara, Avishka Fernando, Kusal Mendis (capt, wk), Kamindu Mendis, Sahan Arachchige/Pavan Rathnayake, Janith Liyanage, Dasun Shanaka, Dunith Wellalage, Dushmantha Chameera, Eshan Malinga, Maheesh Theekshana, Asitha Fernando
(Cricinfo)
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