Rafael Nadal v Novak Djokovic: all signs point to a titanic clash in final of Mutua Madrid Open

That is the most likely scenario, given that Djokovic has won all 27 matches that he has played this year — including five tournaments — while Nadal’s last defeat on clay came fully 34 games and two years ago against Robin Soderling in Paris.

Unless someone pulls off a stunning feat of giant-killing, it will be the indomitable Serb against the invincible Spaniard on Sunday. Djokovic has the form, having beaten his former nemesis in five of their last six meetings, but Nadal will enjoy both the fervent support of his home crowd and the shift from hard courts to clay, the surface he has made his personal fiefdom.

Can anyone derail either of these two trains before they meet head-on? Well, Andy Murray has a shot at a semi-final against Djokovic — a potential rematch of the Australian Open final – if he can come through a quarter of the draw that includes Gael Monfils and Tomas Berdych.

But this would be a lot to ask. While the Big Two have been polishing their latest trophies, Murray has only just emerged from the worst losing streak of his career — the one that started with that morale-shredding loss to Djokovic at Melbourne Park, and continued through inept performances in Rotterdam, Indian Wells and Miami.

He has been in Spain for over a week, first recovering from the sore elbow that kept him out of the Barcelona Open, and then working with Darren Cahill, the team adidas coach who will help him as a consultant until a more permanent coaching appointment can be found. There was also a 16-game practice match against Nadal himself, which ended up in an 8-8 draw.

Granted a first-round bye, Murray will enter the singles on Wednesday against either the Frenchman Gilles Simon or Croatia’s Ivan Ljubicic — a demanding opener for a man with little live tournament action behind him, but one he should survive if he recovers the form he showed in Monte Carlo last month.

On Tuesday, Murray is expected to play doubles with brother Jamie, but the main attraction at the Park Manzanares will be Mikhail Youzhny’s tussle with the unseeded Juan Martin del Potro, a dangerous “floater” in the men’s draw who dominated all-comers in the Estoril Open last week.

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Tottenham are creating 'a storm in a teacup', blasts Stoke chairman over Manchester City clash

Chairman Peter Coates has dismissed talk that Stoke might under-perform in their rearranged Barclays Premier League game with Manchester City three days after they meet in the FA Cup final on May 14.

There could be a combination of factors that would mean a defeat for Tony Pulis' side at Eastlands would boost their chances of qualifying for next season's Europa League.

If Stoke were to lose the final, they could still qualify for next season's Europa League if City were to finish in the top four in the league.

That would see City go into the Champions League and mean they would not need the FA Cup's Europa League place, which would go to the Potters.

Tottenham, who are scrapping with Manchester City for a top-four place, want the date changed.

'The whole issue is a storm in a teacup,' Coates told Stoke Sentinal. 'Anybody who knows football and knows Stoke City will know we would never go into a game not trying to win - not least because there is a lot of money riding on where a club finishes in the Premier League.'

Redknapp had said: 'I think they should look at it. The chairman spoke to me last night about it. We feel it should be changed - but it's a bit out of my hands.'

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James DeGale eyes world title shot after clash with former friend George Groves

James DeGale is grateful opponent George Groves beat him when they were amateurs as he can take revenge and move one step closer to becoming world champion.

Olympic champion DeGale is putting his British super-middleweight title on the line to fight Commonwealth champion Groves at London’s O2 Arena on May 21, as the two former friends go toe-to-toe.

The pair attended the Dale Youth ABC in west London, where Groves beat DeGale in an amateur competition and the pair have since fallen out.

DeGale has stepped up the trash talking, saying he will beat Groves inside four rounds and hopes a title shot will follow soon after.

He said: ‘Do you know what, I’m glad ugly kid (Groves) won that fight all those years ago. If he hadn’t won, we wouldn’t be here now talking about this exciting fight, a match-up which takes me one step closer to becoming world champion.

‘The bottom line for Groves is that he’s chinny. And I promise I will expose that. He got knocked out as an amateur, he got dropped in training by Carl Froch in training and he was all over the place in his second to last fight with Kenny Anderson.

‘He’s the one who’s looking nervous at the moment. He looks scared in interviews, he’s been beaten by the size of the occasion already.

He continued: ‘I’m sticking by my prediction of winning inside four rounds. But that’s only if he comes to fight me. If he tries to get all technical, he’ll drag it out longer. But this fight is definitely not going the full 12 rounds.

‘Groves is fixated with emotion. He even claims this won’t, in a technical sense, be his hardest fight. Trust me, this fight will test everything.

DeGale and Groves will slug it out on the undercard of Nathan Cleverly’s world light-heavyweight title clash with Jurgen Brahmer, a night of boxing which will be broadcast on Sky Box Office.

And DeGale expressed his surprise that Amir Khan decided against having his fight with Paul McCloskey shown on Sky after the plug was pulled on the pay-per-view event and moved to the fringe channel Primetime.

‘I think moving away from Sky was the wrong idea, said DeGale. ‘The channel stuck by him after he was floored by Breidis Prescott so maybe he should have shown some loyalty to them.

‘But boxing isn’t just a sport, it’s a business and he did what he had to do.’

And with the London Olympics just over 15 months away, DeGale is excited at the prospect of revisiting the Games, but this time as a spectator, four years after he won gold in Beijing.

‘I can’t wait for the track and field events. They produce the most memorable moments at every Games so I’m hoping to be there for the sprint finals and hopefully catch some of the field events, too,’ said the Olympic middleweight champion. 

‘But its not just about being at the marquee events, I’m looking forward to just being part of it all and sharing the moment. Hopefully my gold medal will count for something when applying for tickets!’

To apply for London 2012 tickets visit tickets.london2012.com any time between now and 26 April 

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