Sports Tracker

Ten years ago today, a seismic headbutt shook up the world of football. In the 2006 World Cup final in Berlin on July 9, 2006, with France and Italy locked at 1-1 in extra time, the great Zinedine Zidane — playing in his last-ever match as a player — wandered past Azzurri defender Marco Materazzi. Amid the din of a tense Olympiastadion, thousands in Berlin and millions worldwide watched on as the Frenchman exchanged words with the Italian. Time seemed to freeze as Zidane held his opponent's gaze, locked, loaded, and unleashed an extraordinary headbutt straight into Materazzi's sternum. It earned Zidane — one of the most decorated players of his time and a god among Les Bleus and Real Madrid fans alike — a red card as he marched furiously past the World Cup trophy, an ignomous end to his playing career. What was said between the two? Rumours and allegations of a slur against Zidane's sister have long since done the rounds as football fans speculated...

At the year's beginning the long reign of the 'Big Four' seemed to be in some danger. The dominance of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray was not as clear cut as in the past. Not only was age catching up with them, a whole set of young challengers notably Marin Cilic of Croatia, Alexander Zverev of Germany, Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina, Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria and Dominic Thiem of Austria had made rapid progress. The gap in the rankings was narrowing and it appeared that a new order might just take over from the old guard. Yet as we come to the end of the season tournaments with the conclusion of the US Open, the last Grand Slam of the year, the old guard has made it clear that they are not yet ready to ride off into the sunset. For a start the four Grand Slam events were all won by three of the quartet, with Federer winning the Australian Open, Nadal as usual reigning king at Roland Garros, and Djokovic emerging triumpha...