OLYMPICS: Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis vowed yesterday that Athens would organise a very good Olympic Games in 2004 despite the country's troubled preparations.

Simitis has personally taken charge of the Games' preparations after continuous in-fighting and bureaucracy prompted the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to warn Greece to speed up preparations.

"Everything points towards us completing this effort on time. . . and they will be good, very good Olympic Games," Simitis told reporters at a news conference.

He said the years leading up to the 2004 Athens Games would boost Greece's economy and its global image."We hope to create a strong economy, a strong society," he said.

Last year, the IOC flashed Athens a yellow card and said the Games could be in danger if the country did not improve its organisation.

Simitis in turn put Gianna Angelopoulos, who headed Athens' successful bid in 1997, in charge of the organising committee.

More recently he used a government reshuffle to appoint a group of deputy ministers exclusively responsible for 2004 projects.

TENNIS: France paid tribute to their victorious Davis Cup team yesterday with a reception at the Elysee Palace and a parade along the Champs Elysees.

"You are the true sons of the Musketeers," president Jacques Chirac told captain Guy Forget and players Nicolas Escude, Arnaud Clement, Cedric Pioline and Fabrice Santoro.

Sebastien Grosjean was the only player missing. The Masters Cup runner-up was excused from the ceremony to return home to his wife and son in Florida.

When talking of the "Musketeers", Chirac was referring to the legendary French quartet of Henri Lacoste, Jean Borotra, Henri Cochet and Jacques Brugnon, six-times winners of the Davis Cup between 1927 and 1932.

MOTOR SPORT: Peugeot began testing for the 2002 world rally season in Sweden yesterday without Richard Burns, the new champion they hope will be driving for them next year.

Peugeot have signed Burns but the Briton is locked in a contract wrangle with his Subaru team, who say an option was activated by his winning the drivers' world title for them in Britain last month.

A Peugeot spokesman said Finland's 2000 world champion Marcus Gronholm was testing the 206 car yesterday and today before his compatriot Sebastian Lindholm takes over for the remainder of the week.

Subaru had no comment on the situation. The season starts with the Monte Carlo rally in January.