Sania-Bhupathi enter final of Australian Open

Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi overcame a sluggish start to sail into the Australian Open mixed doubles final for the second consecutive year as they beat Czechs Iveta Benesova and Lukas Dlouhy in straight sets on Friday.

The Indian pair thrashed the Czechs in straight set of 6-4, 6-1 to reach the final stage of the tournament in Melbourne. Sania and Bhupathi, who were runner-up at the Melbourne Park last year, trailed 1-3 in the opening set before storming back to seal the issue in 54 minutes.

In the summit clash, they will take on the unseeded French-Israeli combine of Nathalie Dechy and Andy Ram, who stunned seventh seeded Spaniards Anabel Medina Garrigues and Tommy Robredo 7-6 (9/7) 6-4.

It was hardly the kind of start Sania and Bhupathi, who have dropped just one set en route to the semis, would have wanted as Benesova and Dlouhy broke them in the opening game to race to a 1-3 lead.

However, the Indians got their act together soon after and broke back twice to take the first set in 32 minutes. Sania and Bhupathi continued their dominance in the second set and broke their rivals thrice.

Such was their hold over the proceedings that the Indians did not face a single break point in the second set, which they wrapped up in a mere 22 minutes. The win makes it a double delight for Bhupathi, who along with Bahamas' Mark Knowles, has also made the men's doubles finals to be played tomorrow.

Bhupathi has six mixed doubles Grand Slam titles under his belt with different partners. His last mixed doubles Grand Slam was incidentally the Australian Open in 2006 when he had partnered Swiss Martina Hingis. Sania, however, would be aiming for her maiden Slam title.

Saina revises her goal, aims to crack top five by 2010

Citing that she needs more experience in the international level, ace shuttler Saina Nehwal has now revised her target from being the numero uno to just breaking into the elite top five bracket by 2010.

"I had earlier said that I was aiming to be on the top but realistically to be among the first five will be fine with me," Saina told reporters.

"Right now, I am doing well and I am satisfied with my performance in the international tournaments. But I need more experience. Playing in different tournaments will be important," the 18-year-old teen added.

The current world number 10, Saina, who is training under her coach and former All England champion P Gopichand at his academy in Hyderabad, does not feel the need to train abroad.

"I think training in India is as good as training elsewhere as we have the best of facilities (in India)," the Beijing Olympic quarter-finalist said.

Referring to the World Badminton Championship to be held in Hyderabad in August, Saina said though she would have home advantage, she would not take the event lightly.

Federer beats Roddick to reach Open final

Switzerland's Roger Federer blasted Andy Roddick off-court in another fearsome display to reach the Australian Open final and stay on course for a record-tying 14th Grand Slam title on Thursday.

The second seed absorbed Roddick's serve and dominated the rallies to take it 6-2, 7-5, 7-5, with arch-rival Rafael Nadal playing Fernando Verdasco in the all-Spanish second semi-final on Friday.

Federer, now in his 18th Grand Slam final, has not lost any of his three previous Australian Open title matches and continues his unbeaten record against Roddick in Major tournaments. Nadal is hot favourite for his semi with Verdasco, raising the prospect of a mouth-watering sixth Grand Slam final between the world's top two players and long-time rivals.

It was demoralising for Roddick, who came into the match revitalised by a change in coach but got off to an appalling start and argued with the chair umpire as the first set slipped past in 32 minutes.

Federer had the seventh seed on a string and he reeled off 12 straight points to take the second, breaking for 6-5 and serving out with grim precision for the two-set lead.

Roddick tangled again with the umpire when he swore loudly and received a code violation, and was left staggered when Federer dug himself out of trouble with a brilliant drop shot, lob and stop-volley to hold for 5-5.

The American was then guilty of a howler as he patted the ball to Federer's feet with the court begging, gifting the crucial break point which the Swiss converted with an unstoppable forehand before calmly serving out the win.

Federer lost in the semis here last year and was beaten in the Roland Garros and Wimbledon finals by Nadal, who ended his record 237-week stint as world number one.

But he rescued his season by winning his fifth US Open title to move to 13 Grand Slam victories, one fewer than American great Pete Sampras.

Federer moves to 16-2 against Roddick, the former number one who won the 2003 US Open but has not reached a Grand Slam final since 2006.

He beat Andreas Seppi, Evgeny Korolev and 2005 champion Marat Safin in the early rounds before fighting back from two sets down against Tomas Berdych.

Federer then thrashed Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro in the quarter-finals, winning 6-3, 6-0, 6-0 in his most comprehensive victory in the last eight of a Grand Slam.

Federer also reached the semi-finals at the previous five Australian Opens, winning in 2004, 2006 and 2007, and last failed to make the last eight in 2003.

He can join Roy Emerson, Andre Agassi, Jack Crawford and Ken Rosewall as the only men to have won four or more titles here.

Roddick won against Bjorn Rehnquist, Xavier Malisse, Fabrice Santoro and Tommy Robredo to reach the quarter-finals, when defending champion Novak Djokovic retired with cramp in intense heat.

Zvonareva beats Bartoli to reach Aussie Open semis

Russian seventh seed Vera Zvonareva reached the Australian Open semi-finals with a crushing 6-3, 6-0 win over French 16th seed Marion Bartoli on Tuesday in searing conditions at Melbourne Park.

Zvonareva kept her cool after going down 3-1 in the first set to win 11 straight games as Bartoli wilted in the heat.

The 23-year-old Russian has been in ominous form in reaching her first ever Grand Slam semi-final. She is yet to drop a set in the tournament while holding her opponents to 6-0 in four of the 10 sets she has contested.

Her ability to deal with the testing conditions proved crucial against Bartoli, who could not find the red-hot form with which she ousted world number one Jelena Jankovic.

Bartoli, a Wimbledon finalist in 2007, came out swinging early in the match but her aggressive tactics proved unsuited to the hot conditions. She drew first blood, taking advantage of a Zvonareva double fault and a rash of unforced errors from the Russian to go up a break in the first game.

Zvonareva, playing in only the second Grand Slam quarter-final of her career, managed to break back in the next. But Bartoli, covering her head with a towel between games to provide some relief from the heat, lobbed an advancing Zvonareva on her way to another break.

The 23-year-old Frenchwoman surrendered the advantage three games later, committing two double faults and allowing Zvonareva to level the set at 3-3. The Russian, who took a 6-1 winning record against Bartoli into the match, began to recover from her slow start, her penetrating ground strokes finally finding their mark.

She gained the upper hand with another break to go up 5-3, sending down her first ace of the match in the next as she went on to serve out the set after 38 minutes.

The conditions took their toll on Bartoli in the second set and Zvonareva moved her around the court, breaking her three times as she raced to a 6-0 lead in just 30 minutes.

Gerrard keeps Liverpool in FA Cup

Steven Gerrard was Liverpool's hero yet again as they remained in the FA Cup on Sunday after, for the second time in a week, being held to a 1-1 draw by city rivals Everton at Anfield.

When the teams met on Monday in a Merseyside derby draw which dented Liverpool's Premier League title ambitions, it was Everton who fought back but Sunday's match saw the Reds come from behind.

Everton took the lead in this fourth round tie in the 27th minute when Liverpool, as happened on Monday, failed to mark Tim Cahill in the box.

The Australia midfielder's header from Steven Pienaar's corner was nodded home from close range by Joleon Lescott.

But Gerrard, as he's done so often before, dragged Liverpool back into the match with a well-struck shot six minutes before the hour although Everton's United States goalkeeper Tim Howard ought to have saved at his near post from the England midfielder.

Earlier, Arsenal were also left contemplating the somewhat unwelcome prospect of an FA Cup replay, against Cardiff City, after their Welsh opponents held them to a goalless draw at Ninian Park.

Cardiff, beaten in last year's final by Portsmouth, spurned several good chances in the first half in a match where Arsenal missed opportunities of their own against the second-tier Championship club.

This match was a repeat of the 1927 final which Cardiff won 1-0 to become the only non-English club to win the FA Cup.

Afterwards Cardiff's Roger Johnson praised the Bluebirds' defending which helped earn them a second crack against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on February 3.

Holders Portsmouth were knocked out of the FA Cup on Saturday after losing 2-0 at their Fratton Park home to Cardiff's bitter Welsh rivals Swansea, who also play in the Championship.