WARKA, Poland -- Croatia coach Slaven Bilic breathed a huge sigh of relief Friday on hearing that defender Vedran Corluka has been given the all-clear by doctors to play in the European Championship. . Corluka, regarded as Croatias best defender, complained of an injury to his left hamstring at training on Thursday, but doctors in Warsaw cleared him to play in Croatias Group C opener against Ireland on Sunday. "Theyve done a scan this morning, and the scan showed, thank God, nothing, no rupture ... so we are expecting him to play on Sunday," Bilic said. "It is a relief because Corluka is one of our generals, like a senator, and hes the leader of the defence and hes one of the most important players for us." Croatias hopes for the tournament are largely built around its attacking potential with playmaker Luka Modric and striker Nikica Jelavic. By contrast, the defence is seen as slightly shaky. Players like Domagoj Vida and Ivan Strinic have yet to prove themselves on the big stage, while Josip Simunic, at 34, has started to show signs of wear and tear. Though hes a proven tournament player and just a handful of caps away from making his 100th appearance for Croatia, Simunic may not even make the starting lineup on Sunday. Thats why Corlukas availability is so important for a team that faces one of the toughest groups at Euro 2012, with games against the last two world champions -- Spain and Italy -- to follow. The 26-year-old Corluka, who has been on loan at Bayer Leverkusen from Tottenham, can play anywhere along the back line. He prefers playing right back, a position that allows him to link up with Darijo Srna, Croatias captain, and with Modric as he drifts back to engineer an attack. His all-clear from doctors was also a welcome change of news on the injury front, with Croatia having lost striker Ivica Olic and midfielder Ivo Ilicevic to injuries since last weekend. Bilic denied that the Ireland game was make-or-break for his team, but acknowledged that it represents Croatias best opportunity for making progress in the tournament. "Nothing will be decided after the first game. We can come closer to pass the group stage or make our chances lesser, but still everything is going to be open after the game," Bilic said. "Weve proved in history, and theyve proved in history as well, we can beat those big guns as well." Croatia has proven since declaring independence in 1991 that its national team can defy the odds. At Euro 2008, Croatia beat Germany and went through to the quarterfinals with a 100 per cent record in the group stage. It also finished a surprise third at the 1998 World Cup in France. [url=http://www.buccaneersofficialteamstore.com/autographed-lavonte-david-jersey... David Jersey . It might also be the last time, depending on how things go at NFL headquarters and in federal court. On Monday, Vilma again asked a federal judge to overturn his recently re-issued suspension in the NFLs bounty probe of the Saints, and the NFL Players Association made a similar request on behalf of three other players. . Tsonga, the No. 5 seed, handled Russian Andrey Kuznetsov 1-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 at the worlds lone clay-court major. Tsonga hasnt fared well at his native Grand Slam as a pair of fourth-round appearances are his best results in four previous visits. [url=http://www.buccaneersofficialteamstore.com/autographed-mason-foster-jersey-... . Zeeman won the 1,850-metre event in seven minutes 24.29 seconds. The Cambridge, Ont., native also won bronze at the world under-23 championships earlier this year. [url=http://www.buccaneersofficialteamstore.com/autographed-tom-crabtree-jersey-... Crabtree Jersey . Chicago made the plays and scored three runs, while Torontos offence and defence both stalled as the White Sox eked out a 3-2 victory on Tuesday. . -- Tiger Woods is more driven to catch Jack Nicklaus than to try to emulate Luke Donald and Rory McIlroy. The U.S. Open tennis tournament is moving the womens final to Sunday and mens final to Monday in 2013, building in a day of rest ahead of each title match for the first time. The U.S. Tennis Association, which runs the Grand Slam event played in New York, announced the changes Friday -- but only for next year. A decision about 2014 and beyond probably will come after the 2013 tournament, USTA spokesman Chris Widmaier said. Rain forced the USTA to postpone the mens final from its scheduled Sunday slot to Monday each of the last five years. Some top male players complained that the U.S. Open was the sports only major tournament that put their semifinals and final on consecutive days. The mens semifinals in New York will stay on Saturday under the new plan. Fridays moves end the tradition of what the U.S. Open has called "Super Saturday" since 1984, with both mens semifinals and the womens final all on that days schedule at Flushing Meadows, followed by the mens final Sunday. Wimbledon, the French Open and Australian Open follow another pattern: womens semifinals Thursday, mens semifinals Friday, womens final Saturday, mens final Sunday. The U.S. Open now joins the French Open -- which starts and ends on Sundays -- as 15-day Grand Slam tournaments. As part of the new schedule, the USTA is scrapping its Saturday night session in 2013; the womens final had been played in prime time since 2001. Now the womens final will be in the old mens final time slot, 4 p.m. ET on Sunday. The mens final will be at 5 p.m. ET on Sept. 9. Both will remain on CBS. The tournament will start on Aug. 26. The USTA also announced Friday that total prize money in 2013 will jump $4 million to a record $29.5 million. The increase is the largest in tournament history, doubling the roughly $2 million hike from 2011 to 2012. The USTA has not decided how the new money will be distributed. "Both the prize money increase annd the addition of a day of rest are great for the players," four-time U. [url=http://www.buccaneersofficialteamstore.com/autographed-michael-koenen-jerse... Koenen Jersey. S. Open champion Serena Williams said in a statement issued via the USTA. "These moves make the tournament stronger than its ever been for all players." Williams title in New York this year, her 15th at a major tournament, came on a Sunday, the fourth time in the last five years the womens final was delayed a day because of rain. Unlike at Wimbledon and the Australian Open, the U.S. Open does not have a roof to protect any court used for tournament matches. Its also the only Grand Slam tournament that has been scheduling two mens semifinals a day before the mens final, which leaves less room for scheduling flexibility when there is disruptive weather. "We listened to the players and understood we needed to accommodate their request for an extra day of rest between the semifinals and final. ... The USTA reached out to many of the top players, player agents, as well as the respective tours," Widmaier said. "So far, everything has been fairly positive. The day of rest is being embraced across the board," he added. "Because of the nature of the game, and to assure a final that can be played at the highest competitive level, you need an extra day of rest. We recognized that." In a statement released by the USTA, 2012 champion Andy Murray said: "Im pleased that the USTA has modified the U.S. Open schedule to include a day of rest between the semifinals and final. Together with the prize money increase, its good that theyve taken on board the players concerns." Widmaier said the tournament still needs to figure out on which days the mens, womens and mixed doubles finals will be played next year. One reason for the need to reschedule: The womens doubles championship match has been on Sunday in the past, but cant be in 2013, with the singles shifting to that day. ' ' '