Howard Fendrich

WASHINGTON -- Now it can be said with certainty: Get ready for some football!

NFL players voted to OK a final deal Monday, days after the owners approved a tentative agreement, and the sides finally managed to put an end to the 4 1/2-month lockout, the longest work stoppage in league history.

"This is a long time coming, and football's back," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said, "and that's the great news for everybody."

As it is, clubs already were being told not to expect players to begin arriving at facilities Saturday, the day owners said gates would open.

"Now it's just waiting," Carolina Panthers general manager Marty Hurney said at an Atlanta hotel where team executives were being briefed on new rules for next season. "Be flexible and wait and see what happens."

WIMBLEDON, England -- About 18 months removed from his last Grand Slam championship, Roger Federer figures it's about time for another -- his record-tying seventh at Wimbledon.

Despite nearly a year away from the game because of a series of health scares, Serena Williams (right) warns that she "wouldn't bet against" herself.

And even though he's yet to drop a set through three matches -- something he'd never done at the All England Club -- Rafael Nadal keeps talking up his opponent's chances.

WIMBLEDON, England -- Head bowed, Andy Roddick trudged off Centre Court, his purple Wimbledon towel dragging along the turf.

As the three-time runner-up at the All England Club headed for the exit, he passed some kids clamoring for an autograph from their front-row perch. Roddick paused and tossed his blue-framed racket underhand. Thanks to his latest earlier-than-anticipated Grand Slam loss, the American won't be needing it next week.

The eighth-seeded Roddick departed quickly Friday, beaten 7-6 (2), 7-6 (2), 6-4 in the third round by unseeded Feliciano Lopez of Spain. Lopez served spectacularly well, hitting 28 aces, and finally got the better of the 2003 U.S. Open champion after losing all seven previous matches they played.

PARIS -- Regardless of the setting or the surface, Rafael Nadal confounds Roger Federer the way no other man can.

Put the two greats of the game on opposite ends of a court in a Grand Slam final -- particularly at Roland Garros, on the red clay that Nadal rules -- and the one-sided nature of the rivalry grows even more pronounced.

Grinding along the baseline, using every inch of his wingspan to extend points, whipping fearsome forehands this way and that, Nadal flummoxed Federer yet again Sunday in a riveting, highlight-filled match, beating him 7-5, 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-1 for a record-tying sixth French Open championship and 10th major title overall.

PARIS -- Dusk was descending, wind was swirling and full-throated chants of "Ro-ger! Ro-ger!" from 15,000 or so fans finally were hushing as Roger Federer stepped to the baseline to serve -- one point from returning to the French Open final and one point from ending Novak Djokovic's 43-match winning streak.

Federer rocked back, unfurled his body and whipped an ace, his 18th Friday, to seal a 7-6 (5), 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5) victory over Djokovic, then roared and wagged his right index finger, as if telling the world, "I'm still No. 1!"

So what if the official ranking says otherwise? This was Federer showing he's still got what it takes.

It's tough to decide what's most impressive about Novak Djokovic's 37-0 record in 2011, the best start in men's tennis in more than a quarter-century.

Djokovic has won all seven tournaments he's entered, including the Australian Open; he had never collected more than five titles in a full season. He's a combined 7-0 against Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, two men who dominated him and the sport the past several years. He's 13-0 against all top-10 players. He leads the ATP in return games won and is second in service games won.

The No. 1-ranked Nadal summed it up simply, saying: "He is doing amazing things."