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Breakfast Bulletin: Fernando Torres, French tennis raids, Andy Murray, Rory McIlroy

Ben Cuzzupe

Updated 04/05/2016 at 06:25 GMT

Torres prasies Atletico's tactics, French tennis HQ searched by authorities, Andy Murray through in Madrid and a special day for a great Northern Irish golfer.

Atletico Madrid's Slovenian goalkeeper Jan Oblak (R) gets to the ball ahead of Bayern Munich's French midfielder Franck Ribery (2nd R)

Image credit: AFP

WEDNESDAY MORNING'S BIG STORIES

1- Torres praises tactics as Atletico through to Champions League final

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Atletico Madrid's French forward Antoine Griezmann (R) celebrates scoring

Image credit: AFP

Atletico Madrid and Diego Simeone's daring plan has allowed Atletico Madrid through to the Champions League on the away goals rule. Bayern defeated Madrid 2-1 at the Allianz Arena, making it 2-2 on aggregate and putting Atleti into their second final in three years.
Diego Simeone's team were under fire before the match for their counter-attacking mentality, striker Fernando Torres praised the tactics and team set-up for getting the victory as Griezmann's vital away goal - together with the clean sheet from the first leg - was enough to get gritty Atletico to scrape through.
"We tried to press them high, have counter-attacks and this was why we got the goal," said Torres after the match.
The French striker beat a pressed offside trap after receiving the ball from Torres and allowing Atletico to capitalise on their patience. Madrid yet again gave up possession for vast periods of the match, only having 27% overall. Madrid's keeper Jan Oblak made an incredible nine saves for the contest, underlining the heavy pressure the Madrid defence were under.

2- French tennis federation searched by police

Documents have been seized by law enforcement in France, as the headquarters of the French tennis federation were searched following allegations against the organisation over illegal ticket sales.

France's financial prosecutors office released a statement coinciding with the raids, announcing it was investigating the "misappropriation of property and influence trafficking", "an illicit system of reselling tickets for the French Open tournament" and the "awarding of a contract for the renovation and enlargement of Roland-Garros".
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View of the Roland Garros flag ahead of the 2015 French Tennis Open in Paris on May 23, 2015.

Image credit: Eurosport

The authorities investigation into FFT is set to look into whether tickets in the French Open were being sold on the black market for mark up prices and whether a deal to extend the Roland Garros stadium was organised fairly.

3- Andy Murray takes win over Stepanek at Madrid Open in "tough" match

Andy Murray is through to the third round of the Madrid Open, after his 7-6 (7-3) 3-6 6-1 victory over Radek Stepanek, saying the match was fight to get through.
The world number 148 pushed Murray all the way, leaving him to ponder the outcome after the match.
"Not a lot of the match was played on my terms. It was very tough", the Scot told the press as he had to fight to overcome an incredibly strong second set from Stepanek. Murray fought him off in the first in the tiebreak, but was forced into errors and couldn't combat an array of shots in the second set.
Murray stormed home to take the final set and will play either 16th seed Gilles Simon or Pablo Carreno Busta in the third round on Thursday.

SHARING IS CARING - TODAY'S VIRAL GEMS

Barnes driving all the way to the board.

WEDNESDAY'S CAN'T MISS ACTION

- CYCLING - Four Days of Dunkirk Stage 1: Dunkirk to Gravelines - LIVE ON EUROSPORT 1 from 14:30
Tune in to catch the stage race that winds it's way through the beautiful countryside of Northern France, live and in HD.
- FOOTBALL - Champions League Semi Final: Real Madrid vs. Manchester City - from 19:45
Can Manchester City create their own European history by making the final or will Ronaldo and co. at the Bernabeu be too much of a hurdle to clear? A cracking evening of football ahead.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

One of Northern Ireland's greatest exports Rory Mcllroy turns 27 today. Mcllroy is a four time major champion and was world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking for 95 weeks. Happy birthday, Rory.
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Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland tees-off during the 2nd round of the 2016 Dubai Desert Classic at the Emirates Golf Club in Dubai on February 5, 2016.

Image credit: AFP

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