The Sports Matrix: Tuesday 24 May 2011

Watson wins at Roland Garros

Heather Watson beat Stephanie Foretz Gacon last night to become the first British woman to win a French Open match for 17 years. The 19-year-old won 7-6, 6-1 in 96 minutes and will face Estonian 16th seed Kaia Kanepi in the second round. MORE

Berdych praises Robert after losing

Tomas Berdych became the first major casualty at the French Open yesterday, losing 3-6, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, 9-7 to the French No 16 Stephan Robert. “I cannot imagine that somebody who can play tennis like this can be out of the top 100,” Berdych said. MORE

Morgan insists Test cricket comes first

Eoin Morgan insisted that Test cricket is his main priority after returning from the IPL to be selected for the first Test this week: “My priorities are quite clear – Test match cricket comes first, always has done.” MORE

Evra: Ferguson talked me round

Patrice Evra was convinced by Sir Alex Ferguson to stay at Manchester United, the left-back said yesterday: “I had thought about leaving Manchester United last summer for family reasons, but the manager visited me at my house to persuade me.” MORE

Raynor in hot water over tackle

Bradford’s Gareth Raynor will tonight face a charge of making a high tackle to the head or neck over the challenge on Wigan’s Sam Tomkins that saw Tomkins knocked out and Raynor sent off. He made the tackle in Saturday’s Challenge Cup defeat. MORE

Wilshere: U-21 exit down to fitness fear

Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere said that he had to miss the European Under-21 Championship to avoid risking injury. “It is about me looking after myself,” he said. “Over the last few weeks, I have been feeling tired and my GPS results have shown that.” MORE

Cockerill cleared by RFU for final

Leicester boss Richard Cockerill is free to attend this weekend’s Premiership final against Saracens, after RFU chief disciplinary officer Judge Jeff Blackett decided against pursuing any charges against him following touchline conduct in the semi-final. MORE

Balotelli misses out on Cup parade

Mario Balotelli was absent yesterday from Manchester City’s FA Cup parade, ignoring club instructions to join the open-top bus tour for the fans. City chief executive Garry Cook had warned players of their duty to attend. Club captain Carlos Tevez was present. MORE

HRT may protest over ‘illegal’ cars

HRT team boss Colin Kolles is considering protesting that some of the cars for next week’s Monaco Grand Prix use illegal engine systems: “I think that if this is not going to be stopped before Monaco then we have no other choice,” he said, “this is illegal.” MORE

Opinion: James Lawton

We can only hope that on Saturday Ryan Giggs can seize the opportunity to re-define himself at Wembley Stadium doing what he has always done best, which will carry him far away from the banalities of Twitter. MORE

Chelsea hoping to tempt Hiddink

Chelsea are confident that Guus Hiddink will leave his job as manager of the Turkish national side this summer, liberating him to return to the club he left in 2009. Hiddink will take charge of Turkey’s Euro 2012 qualifier against Belgium in Brussels on Friday week but Chelsea believe that he can be drawn away before the end of his contract at the end of next summer’s European Championship. The Dutchman took charge of the club on a caretaker basis in 2009 after the sacking of Luiz Felipe Scolari and won the FA Cup. Hiddink was succeeded as Chelsea manager by Carlo Ancelotti who, after two years in charge, was dismissed on Sunday having failed to win any trophies in his second season in charge. Rather than replacing Ancelotti, though, Hiddink would rather have an advisory role such as director of football, with a younger coach, such as his fellow countryman Marco van Basten, working underneath him. MORE

Birmingham keep McLeish after drop

Alex McLeish will keep his job as Birmingham City manager after the club’s relegation on Sunday. A statement said, though, that “the board will expect him to lead the side back to the Premier League”. McLeish has admitted fears some of his players may leave. MORE

Sarafina is flying high at Saint-Cloud

Sarafina produced an impressive performance yesterday to win the Group Two Prix Corrida at Saint-Cloud, beating Announce. The filly, trained for the Aga Khan by Alain de Royer-Dupre, is now 10-1, having been 12-1. for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. MORE