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“Australian Open 2011: Live tennis from Melbourne” plus 4 more- Australian Open 2011: Live tennis from Melbourne - Andy Murray eyes Major success at Australian Open - Sir Alex has no complaints after Man Utd draw at Spurs - Kenny Dalglish hails Liverpool desire after derby fightback - Avram Grant fully focused on West Ham despite rumours Australian Open 2011: Live tennis from Melbourne Posted: 16 Jan 2011 04:30 PM PST Keep up-to-date with the very latest scores from the first grand slam of 2011 by following The Sport Review’s automatically-updating score tracker. You can select a match using the controls in the tracker, and watch as the scores are updated in real-time from all courts. (The virtual scoreboard may take a few seconds to load) Andy Murray eyes Major success at Australian Open Posted: 16 Jan 2011 03:08 PM PST Andy Murray is about to open his campaign for the first tennis Major of the year in rain-battered Victoria, Australia, and is sounding pretty relaxed about his chances. With warm-up matches at the Hopman Cup behind him and plenty of court time in Melbourne with off-court chum, Novak Djokovic, Murray seems to be having plenty of fun too: a side to the Scot too infrequently seen in the press. Although his exho against Marin Cilic at the Kooyong Classic last week was rained off, he remains confident of going one better than his final placement last year: "I think there's a good chance that I can win the event." After achieving his best-ever performance in Melbourne last year, falling at the last hurdle to Roger Federer, Murray enjoyed a resurgence on the outdoor hard courts during the latter part of 2010, winning Masters titles in Toronto and Shanghai and taking the scalp of Federer in both. He also reached the semis of the World Tour Finals—and very nearly also reached the finals after a high-quality match against Nadal. However, Murray has said little of the draw that faces him this year, and many think with good reason. It is a curate's egg—good in parts—and that is reflected in the media reaction. Take these views of the Fanhouse UK website: "In truth, the Scot could barely have wished for a better draw." Then look at Scotland's Daily Record: "Tough draw for Andy Murray as Robin Soderling and Rafael Nadal lie in wait en route to final." So were the tennis gods kind or harsh to Murray when they made the draw for the Australian Open? As the No5 seed, he was in danger of meeting one of the top three—and the most dangerous—players in the quarter-finals: Nadal, Federer or Djokovic. He will count himself lucky that he cannot face any of them until the semis. Instead, he has the new world No4, Soderling, who only sits above him because Murray opted to play the Hopman Cup rather than a point-scoring ATP event ahead of Melbourne. He won all three matches there with ease. Murray also has a decent run in the early stages of his draw. He can reach the third round without meeting anyone inside the top 70 and would then play the lowest seed in the draw, No32 Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. The Spaniard had some useful wins last autumn, beating Nadal in Bangkok and Tomas Berdych in Shanghai, so he poses a challenge, but not a huge one. The next step though, is full of intrigue. Marcos Baghdatis has been on a fitness programme, has lost weight and is up for a fight. Still only 25, he was a finalist back in 2006, has a huge following in Australia and has the kind of all-round game to knock the rhythm out of an opponent. He did pick up a groin strain before Sydney but, if he's fit, he will be a dangerous sleeper. That's always supposing he gets past the real unknown in the draw, Juan Martin Del Potro, playing in his first Major since injury forced him off the tour this time last year. The Argentine played a long match to beat Feliciano Lopez in Sydney last week but ran out of steam in the next round. And that could be his downfall so early in his comeback season. Should neither Del Potro nor Baghdatis make it through, there is still Jurgen Melzer to contend with—and this seems the most likely scenario. Murray has beaten him in all four of their meetings, but they haven't played since Melzer discovered some late-flowering form in 2010. The Austrian has also just beaten Nikolay Davydenko and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Kooyong, so he could be a real test. But it's the top section of Murray's quarter that looks a fright. As if Soderling, usurper of his No4 ranking, was not enough, there are Ernests Gulbis—a man who seems constantly poised to fulfil his huge talent—and Tsonga—a man who has many times all but fulfilled his talent only to fall foul of injury. Now he seems fit and he had a good warm-up in Doha. He could be dangerous. Whoever Murray's opponent is in the quarter-finals will be a strong contender who has proved his worth simply by reaching deep into the draw. And if it's Soderling versus Murray, it could be cracker. Both men have been working hard over the off-season and there is the added tension of their places in the rankings. They stand 3-2 in their head-to-head, but Murray, with the greater variety in his game, should have the edge for a semi-final place. There, Murray seems set to meet Nadal. The two men have played 13 times since their first match in Melbourne four years ago, and this could be their sixth Major encounter, their third in the Australian. While Nadal holds the advantage in their overall head to head, Murray has beaten him in their last two hard-court Majors. Remember, too, how close their last meeting at the WTFs in London turned out to be. Theirs is turning into a fine rivalry, and a Melbourne semi would give Nadal the chance to turn the tables on his sad exit with injury in the quarters last year. Even if Nadal starts rusty, he has a decent enough draw to work himself into fighting form and find his rhythm. The first round offers up veteran Brazilian Marcos Daniel, whom Nadal has dismissed in short order twice. Next will be a qualifier Ryan Sweeting—who hasn't won a main draw match since Washington last year—or fellow Spaniard Daniel Gimeno-Traver, 58th in the world and with a couple of useful scalps last year. The top man's first potential seed is Lopez, one of the least challenging seeds in the draw if his recent form is anything to go by. He lost in the first round of his last four tournaments in 2010 and made a second round exit in Brisbane last week. Beyond that lie John Isner—Nadal leads 2-0—Radek Stepanek—some way off complete fitness, though a good player on the hard courts—or Cilic. The Croatian hasn't won more than one match in a tournament since the first week in August 2010. This year started just as badly when, as title-holder, he went out in the first round of Chennai. Even Nadal's potential quarter-final match is scheduled to be against possibly the most benign of the top eight seeds, David Ferrer. The contrasting draws of Murray and Nadal could make all the difference in the semifinals. If Murray has to beat Soderling in his quarter while Nadal faces Ferrer, the Scot may be the less fresh. But all other things being equal, Murray on the hard and hot Melbourne courts has a decent record and a decent chance against Nadal. His reward, should he win, is likely to be one of the top dogs from the lower half of the draw, Federer or Djokovic, and both are riding a wave of good form and confidence. Djokovic has reached three finals and two semifinals in his last six ATP events—and led Serbia to Davis Cup victory in December. Federer beat all four of the other top men in the WTFs and has won 26 of his 28 matches since the US Open. He's also set his sights on regaining the No1 ranking. Could the final therefore be a repeat of Murray's two previous Major finals, which were both against Federer? Or might he end up playing his mate and practice partner Djokovic, whose only Major came in this very event in 2008? Either way, it is a fascinating prospect. Sir Alex has no complaints after Man Utd draw at Spurs Posted: 16 Jan 2011 12:18 PM PST BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE, 16 JANUARY 2011 Tottenham 0 Manchester United 0 Sir Alex Ferguson hailed his side’s defensive stability after Manchester United returned to the summit of the Premier League despite being held to a goalless draw at Tottenham. Harry Redknapp’s Spurs, who were looking for their first win against United in 10 years, looked the more dangerous in possession but failed to deliver in the final third, with the best chance of the afternoon falling to Peter Crouch early in the first half. >From there on the United rearguard coped efficiently with any Spurs attacks as captain Nemanja Vidic led by example with a superb defensive display for the unbeaten league leaders. “We defended very well, they never gave us any trouble with their attacking,” Sir Alex said. “We had one or two good opportunities at times when we got to the last third of the field but we just didn’t quite have the cutting edge. “The kind of pressure we were under was just long balls into the box really. With Ferdinand and Vidic as your centre-backs you know you can cope with that. They were fantastic, the whole back four did really really well.” The United boss, whose side moved level on points with second-placed Manchester City having played two games less than their derby rivals, added: “In the context of Tottenham’s home record this season and the performances they have given, we have got to take it as a good point for us. “It’s about winning games and keeping your nerve and today, defensively, we kept our nerve. It was a decent point, I can’t complain.” Referee Mike Dean showed seven yellow cards at White Hart Lane and United right-back Rafael looked unlucky to have been sent off after receiving his second booking for bringing down Benoît Assou-Ekotto. But the United manager refused to be drawn on the incident after the final whistle. “I don’t need to discuss that, you can see for yourself,” he said. “I don’t need to discuss the referee.” Spurs boss Redknapp, whose side remain in fifth place in the Premier League, agreed with Sir Alex’s assessment that defence prevailed in north London. He said: “Chances were few and far between. I thought we edged the game without creating too many clear-cut chances. “They [Manchester United] are a Champions League winning team, they’ve played big games and defended for their lives in Europe. They came here and were difficult to beat.” Redknapp added: “When they went to 10 men we couldn’t have been more open. We were as open as a barn door going for it.” Kenny Dalglish hails Liverpool desire after derby fightback Posted: 16 Jan 2011 11:12 AM PST BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE, 16 JANUARY 2011 Liverpool 2 Everton 2 Kenny Dalglish bemoaned his side’s inability to convert a host of first-half chances after his Liverpool side were held by Everton on his Anfield return. Dirk Kuyt’s 68th-minute penalty restored parity in the Merseyside derby after two quick second-half strikes from Everton’s Sylvian Distin and Jermaine Beckford cancelled out Raul Meireles’ first-half opener for the Reds. The Liverpool caretaker manager believes his side were unfortunate not to claim a victory after a dominant first-half display in which Fernando Torres hit the woodwork. “I think we were a wee bit unfortunate to come in after the first half only 1-0 up,” Dalglish said. “They got two quick goals but we showed a great deal of desire and determination to get back into the game. “Overall I think we had more shots, more efforts and more clear-cut chance, so possible we could say we deserved more from the game.” Liverpool took the lead in 29th minute through Meireles after Kuyt had two efforts saved by Tim Howard in quick succession. At the third time of asking the athletic American was unable to stop the Portuguese midfielder from firing home the resulting rebound. David Moyes’ men overturned Liverpool’s lead six minutes after the break. Mikel Arteta’s corner was nodded past Pepe Reina by Distin at the far post to level matters before Beckford placed a shot past Reina minutes later following a conspicuous challenge by Everton forward Victor Anchiebe on full-back Martin Kelly. “The first goal should have been a goal-kick instead of a corner – you could see that clearly,” bemoaned Dalglish. “Even without lenses in I could have seen it. Then the second goal – Kelly got battered.” Reds owner John Henry was in the directors’ box at Anfield to witness Dalglish’s much-anticipated return to the Anfield dugout, and the Liverpool boss expects meet with the owner and chairman, Tom Werner, to discuss potential transfer targets for the January transfer window. “We’ll sit down, have a chat, and hopefully they might buy us a bit of dinner,” revealed Dalglish. “But what’s going to be involved in the chat I don’t know. “If they are going to ask me a question and ask me how it’s going, I’ll give them an answer – but I’m not going to give that answer in here.” Dalglish added: “We’ve got a couple of senior players who the supporters haven’t exactly seen eye to eye with. We’ve got to try and rebuild them. If we can get Christian Poulsen and Paul Konchesky back on side then that makes the squad that bit deeper.” Avram Grant fully focused on West Ham despite rumours Posted: 16 Jan 2011 07:19 AM PST West Ham manager Avram Grant insists he remains focused on the club’s bid to avoid relegation despite intense speculation over his future at Upton Park. Ahead of their 3-0 defeat to Arsenal on Saturday various reports claimed the match would be the Israeli’s last game in charge of the Hammers, with former Aston Villa boss Martin O’Neill said to be ready to step into his shoes. Matters worsened for the former Chelsea boss with the defeat to the gunners and Grant further fuelled speculation by throwing his scarf to the crowd in what appeared to be a farewell gesture to the Upton Park faithful. The 55-year-old, however, insists he remains fully focused on improving the Hammers’ form. He said: “I had two choices, and chose to focus on the football. Of course rumours on the day of a game do not help, it does not matter where they came from. “I still want to focus on the thing I can control, and this is the team. I prefer to talk about football rather than answer questions about other things around, especially when I am not the man you need to be asking.” Grant, whose side remain rooted to the foot of the Premier League table, added: “Other teams there is a lot of quiet around them, so that has helped, but I think we have dealt with it all very well. “If we do the right thing, there will be a bright future here, and not just in the cup.” West Ham travel to Goodison Park next weekend before cup encounters against Birmingham in the League Cup semi-final and a fourth round FA Cup tie with Nottingham Forest. You are subscribed to email updates from The Sport Review To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. 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