Australian Open

The Australian Open is coming up soon into the semi- finals.

In the men's section Federer scared all his fans in his match against Tipsarevic. The end wasn't at all clear until the very end. After a gruelling match, he defeated Tipsarevic at the end of four sets. His next match was easier. He defeated Berdych 6-4, 7-6, 6-3 in the 4th round. He will have to knock out J.Blake in the upcoming match.

In the meantime, Rafael Nadal has reached the semi-finals by beating Nieminen.

It looks like, barring any major upsets, that this will be a Federer-Nadal final.

For the women, third-seeded Jelena Jankovic pulled off a major upset by defeating defending champion Serena Williams.

In the quarter-finals, the match is now in progress between Justine Henin and Maria Sharapova. Both players have their share of admiring fans. The Sony Ericsson crowd will obviously root for the lovely Sharapova, their “global brand ambassador”.

Lindsay Davenport Goes to the Top for Earnings

By beating Sara Errani of Italy in the first round at the Australian Open, Lindsay Davenport has reached the top spot for earnings for women's sport.

Her earnings total US$21.8 million, beating Steffi Graf's 10-year record which is about US$2,000 less.

US Basketball Player Brian Dux's Benefit Match

As posted earlier a benefit match for American basketball player Brian Dux was to be held on December 28. Dux had been in a coma since suffering severe brain injuries in a road accident. He has been back in the US since the end of November.

His condition has improved. He is able to speak more clearly and there is movement in his left hand fingers. He was even able to make a call to his team-mate just before Christmas. His family are hoping for a full recovery but realise that this will be a long process.

The fund-raising match was played between Dux's team Guildford Heat and an All Stars team from the British Basketball League, with the home team winning 108-92.

The beneifit match raised about 12,000 pounds.