Rafael Nadal has vowed to be ready for a Wimbledon showdown with a dreadlocked German who has already taught him a lesson on grass.

Germany U21 2 Ireland U21 0

Germany u21s 2 Republic of Ireland u21s 0

Republic of Ireland assistant manager Roy Keane is hoping Jack Grealish’s involvement with the Under-21s will help to persuade him his future lies with the green shirt.

Just 24 hours after Martin O’Neill revealed Jack Grealish’s reluctance to answer a senior call-up, the Aston Villa starlet was yesterday named in the Ireland U21 squad for Friday week’s Uefa Championship qualifier against Germany in Halle.

Roger Federer began his latest quest for a record eighth Wimbledon title in style by brushing aside Paolo Lorenzi in straight sets.

Rafael Nadal was brought back down to earth with a bump by Dustin Brown in Halle.

Elton John has had his appendix removed and is recovering well at home, his publicist confirmed today.

Roger Federer’s latest attempt to find a way out of his slide sees him turn to the comforts of home.

Elton John has revealed he could have died at any time while struggling through his European tour unaware he was suffering from appendicitis.

Top seed Roger Federer enjoyed a comfortable workout as he opened his account at this week’s Gerry Weber Open in Halle with a straight-sets win over German wildcard Cedrik-Marcel Stebe.

Thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes in a region of eastern Germany where the Elbe river has flooded and burst through a dam, officials said.

Central Europe’s worst floods in over a decade claimed a 12th victim as torrents of muddy water surged down rivers through the Czech Republic and into Germany, flooding villages and forcing evacuations.

A raging flood wave that inundated parts of Prague is now heading north towards Germany, forcing the evacuation of thousands of people and leading to concerns about the safety of chemical plants.

Roger Federer will seek solace in the grass courts after a humbling defeat by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the French Open.

The debt crisis in some member states of the European Monetary Union shows once more how closely related bank crises and sovereign debt crises are.

Adam Nolan has savoured it already, but this will be young Michael Conlan’s first taste of the unique Olympic atmosphere when he joins the Wexford man on tonight’s bill at the ExCel, with the Irish camp bidding to get back on the winning trail after yesterday’s first boxing loss.

With victory over Ecuador’s Carlos Sanchez under his belt and all the tension that goes with an Olympic debut out of the way, high performance coach Billy Walsh feels Adam Nolan can advance to greater things in London.

Roger Federer goes into Wimbledon feeling “perfect” and confident of ending the grand slam domination of Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.

Tommy Haas upset Roger Federer’s Wimbledon preparations by winning the Gerry Weber Open in Germany.

Rafael Nadal was bundled out of the Gerry Weber Open by defending champion Philipp Kohlschreiber in Halle yesterday while five-times winner Roger Federer was pushed to the limit.

European light heavyweight champion Joe Ward and Olympic bronze medallist Paddy Barnes will both be seeded in tomorrow’s draw for the European Olympic qualifying tournament in Trabzon, Turkey, but it’s likely the other five members of the Irish team will go into the open draw.

Rafael Nadal today attempted to diffuse all talk of a ’Rafa Slam’ by insisting his great rival Roger Federer is the favourite to land the Australian Open crown.

Roger Federer lit up the opening day of the US Open with another moment of sheer genius during his first-round victory at Flushing Meadows.

DEFENDING champion Roger Federer will look to recover his form at the tournament where he feels most at home as Wimbledon begins in earnest today.

Defending champion Roger Federer believes Andy Murray’s grand slam pedigree will ensure he is a major challenger for the Wimbledon title despite a poor run of form.

ROGER FEDERER and Andy Murray stayed on course for a Wimbledon final clash with straight-sets victories in the quarter-finals yesterday.

Roger Federer and Andy Murray stayed on course for a Wimbledon final clash with straight-sets victories in the quarter-finals today.

Tommy Haas rolled back the years with some vintage tennis to keep his Wimbledon fairytale alive thanks to a stunning quarter-final victory over fourth seed Novak Djokovic.

Novak Djokovic claimed his place in the Gerry Weber Open final in Halle with a straight-sets win over Olivier Rochus today.

FORMER Belgian time trial champion Bert Roesems will lead the powerful Australian-registered Cinelli-Down Under pro team in this year’s FBD Insurance RÁS, which begins Sunday week in Kilcullen.

Four-time defending champion Roger Federer began his bid for a first Grand Slam win of the season with a comfortable first round victory over Argentina’s Maximo Gonzalez at the Billie Jean King Tennis Center.

RUSSIAN giant Nikolai Valuev will fight fellow former champion John Ruiz for the vacant WBA heavyweight title before August 31, it was announced yesterday, following the injury to Ruslan Chagaev.

After wins for Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, it was Rafael Nadal’s turn to begin his Wimbledon campaign today with a first-round match against Germany’s Andreas Beck.

ROGER FEDERER will begin his campaign for a record sixth straight Wimbledon title on the back of his 59th consecutive win on grass.

Roger Federer will begin his campaign for a record sixth straight Wimbledon title on the back of his 59th consecutive win on grass.

John McEnroe believes Roger Federer’s “clear vision” of how to play on grass will again see him crowned Wimbledon champion this year.

MARCOS Baghdatis remains confident he can beat Roger Federer and win Wimbledon — even though the Swiss master outclassed him in the quarter-finals of the Gerry Weber Open.

LETTERS written to Adolf Hitler in the 1920s and 1930s are being published in a book by a German historian this week.

It was a case of 'No roof, no coach, no warm-up event - no problem' for Roger Federer at Wimbledon today.

Andy Roddick will have no sympathy if it is a tired and downbeat Roger Federer who turns up at Wimbledon.

A BUS carrying a group of senior citizens was hit by a truck in eastern Germany yesterday and plunged down an embankment, killing 13 people, authorities said.

A bus veered off a road and fell into a roadside ditch in eastern Germany today, killing 11 people, police said.

Marcos Baghdatis had never won a match on grass until one month ago and had responded to a first round defeat to Romanian wild card Andrei Pavel in Halle by insisting: “Grass is for playing football”.