Andy Murray part of history in Paris, Ali-inspired Mo Farah sets British 3,000m record in Birmingham, there’s double Downie delight in Switzerland and Chris Froome insists he is happy with his Tour de France preparations. Here’s a look back at the last 24 hours in Olympic sport:
History was made at the French Open but it was Novak Djokovic, rather than Andy Murray, who was celebrating at Roland Garros.
Djokovic’s final victory secured his place in the pantheon of legends, as he became just the third man, after Donald Budge and Ron Laver, to hold all four Grand Slam titles at the same time.
Meanwhile, Murray was again left to rue what might have been. The two-time Grand Slam winner and Olympic champion has now been a runner-up in eight major finals - and each time it’s been Djokovic or Roger Federer, two immortals of the sport, across the net.
Just imagine if he’d been born seven years later than, rather than seven days before, his rival Novak, who has now beaten him in five of seven encounters on their sport’s biggest stages.
“What Novak has achieved in the last 12 months is just phenomenal, to win all four of the Grand Slams in one year is remarkable and this is his day,” said Murray.
“This is such a rare feat and it will take a long time for it to happen again. It sucks to lose the match but everyone here is so privileged to have seen it and I’m proud to have been part of it."
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A Muhammad Ali-inspired Mo Farah set and a new British record for 3,000m and said he is now out to make history at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
Double Olympic champion Farah won the 3,000m, at Sunday’s Diamond League meeting in Birmingham, at a canter, breaking David Moorcroft’s 34-year-old record by a tenth of a second.
Farah ran 7:32.62 to finish 12 seconds clear of Kenya’s Mathew Kiptanui in second place.
The 5,000m and 10,000m champion from London 2012 said he was inspired by the death of boxing legend Ali and now wants to go on and defend his Olympic titles in Rio.
“I want to make history but it’s something that’s never been done before so it’s not going to be easy, I’ll have to dig in deep and I’ll keep working hard,” said the five-time world champion.
“A big thank you to the crowd, they made a big difference, I was a bit tired on the last lap and had to dig in.
“I had to dig in deep but I’m glad I got there,
“My support goes to Muhammad Ali and his family, condolences to them.
“What a great man he was, he was one of my heroes, I want to wish his family well.”
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Rebecca Downie is dreaming of an Olympic medal in Rio after winning European gold on the uneven bars.
Younger sister Ellie Downie made it a family affair at the European Championships in Bern, Switzerland, to cap a successful week for the Brits with silvers on the floor and vault.
The elder Downie, 24, beat Russian world champion Daria Spiridonova by 0.034 points with a score of 15.5, to fill her with confidence ahead of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
“I’m so pleased, not only to win the European title but to also put out my more difficult routine – it feel’s amazing,” said the Nottingham gymnast.
“I’ve been working on this routine for about a year now and really wanted to show people what I could do in a major championships.
“I made the decision to go for it in this final and it’s paid off, I need to do routines like that if I’m to reach my ultimate goal – if selected for Rio – of an Olympic medal.”
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Reigning Tour de France champion Chris Froome admitted he still has work to do if he’s to win a third title after finishing third in the prologue of the Criterium du Dauphine.
Froome was beaten by Spanish rival Alberto Contador and former Team Sky colleague Richie Porte in a four kilometre mountain prologue up Le Mont Chery, in the French Alps.
Tinkoff rider Contador finished the course in 11minutes 36seconds, six seconds ahead of BMC's Porte and 13 ahead of Froome.
The Brit is looking to defend both his Dauphine and Tour titles in the coming weeks and said he is happy with his preparation for the world's biggest race.
"I'm happy with the numbers and the feelings I had on the bike. I'm in good shape but I've still got some work to do, and we're a month out from the Tour still. I’m glad that's out of the way," said the two-time Tour winner.
"I'm happy with my build up.
"It's been very different to last year, much slower of an approach this year and I'm hoping that it will bring me to the third week of the Tour in better shape than in previous years.”
Monday's first stage of the traditional Tour de France warm-up race sees the field ride 186km from Cluses to Saint-Vulbas over four, fourth category climbs.
Great Britain Sevens made their debut at the Moscow Grand Prix this weekend and head coach Simon Amor was pleased with what he saw.
The training squad was split into two teams with the Lions taking third place in the cup, while the Royals won the plate.
Both sides topped their groups on Saturday but had contrasting fortunes in the cup quarter-finals on Sunday.
The Lions beat Georgia 36-0 before losing to hosts Russia in the semi-final, but bounced back to topple Germany 28-5 in the third-place play-off.
The Royals lost their cup quarter-final 17-14 to France before easing past Portugal 34-5 in the plate semi-final.
They saw off Georgia 15-12 in a tight final and Amor was heartened by their performance.
"Overall it has been a pleasing weekend," said Amor.
"We have been able to test a number of combinations within the two squads which was a big goal given the short timeframe we have to select the final 12 for Rio and there were some excellent individual performances and glimpses of what this group is capable of.
“Unfortunately, as expected when a new squad comes together, there were times when it didn’t quite click and that caused a disappointing result for each team in the knock out stages.
"It was however pleasing to see the players respond positively to both individual and team set backs and demonstrate the Team GB spirit in how they finished the tournament."
Race walker Tom Bosworth won the British Olympic 20km walk trials on Sunday to move a step closer to Rio.
The British record holder, 26, had already achieved the Olympic qualifying time with his national record of 80:41 set earlier this year, and won the race at Woodhouse Moor, Leeds, to strengthen his claims for a place in Rio.
In warm conditions Bosworth won in 86:17 and after missing out on a spot at London 2012 Bosworth’s delight was evident as he crossed the line in Leeds and burst into an impromptu jig.
Twins Dan and Dom King finished second and third, respectively.
Jade Slavin won a shock gold medal at the Austrian Open taekwondo as she upset the Olympic champion in only her second tournament in 12 months.
The Commonwealth champion made the final of the -73kg category with a 7-6 victory over Serbia’s London 2012 gold medallist, Milica Mandic.
Slavin, 23, beat Mandic via a golden point, gaining revenge after the former world silver medallist knocked her out of last month’s European Championships.
The Brit went on to breeze past former Youth World Championship silver medallist, Aylin Akdeniz, 17-5 in the final and achieve the best win of her career.
“With each match I felt myself getting more and more confident,” said the County Durham fighter.
"After beating Mandic my confidence was through the roof.
“Overall, it was just a nice feeling to be back in action. It makes me want to keep going and going and to get in more competitions.
“I was a bit wary of Mandic but I had beaten her before so I knew I could beat her again. That’s 2-2 in career meetings now.
"It’s just a shame I couldn’t do it at the Euros.”
Elsewhere in the competition Max Cater and Josh Calland were both beaten by Russian opponents at the quarter-final stage of the -58kg category.
Olympic silver medallist Hannah Mills is hoping experience pays off and she can go one better at Rio 2016 with her sailing partner Saskia Clark.
The pair won silver together at London 2012 in the 470 class and will go to Rio high on confidence after a successful 2016 so far.
After winning gold in the 470 on the final day of the World Cup regatta in Hyeres, France, last month, the pair are hopeful of upgrading their silver in London to Olympic gold in South America.
"We're more mature, we've shifted a little bit from London," said 28-year-old Mills.
"Saskia was the team leader and I was quite young and inexperienced and looked to her for support whereas for Rio we're a much more even team.
"We both bring different aspects a lot more and get the best out of each other.
"We've had a good year so far, we struggled a bit at the World Championships, but we know the reasons why and what was going on there.
"We feel comfortable with where we're at."
Britain's sailors will have a last chance to hone race technique and build confidence at the Weymouth and Portland World Cup regatta, the fourth leg of the six-event series, which starts today.
Sportsbeat 2016