Ten-man Wanderers break Heart

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Warrior ... Shinji Ono scores for the Wanderers. Source: Quentin Jones / AAP

Even a 10-man Western Sydney proved too strong for Melbourne Heart as the A-League newcomers continued their remarkable rise with a 1-0 victory.

Despite having defender Jerome Polenz sent off in the 13th minute, the Wanderers were totally dominant in front of 14,624 fans at Parramatta Stadium.

Shinji Ono's 73rd-minute penalty secured the win, after Josip Tadic earlier had a spot kicked saved following Polenz's sending off.

The win was Western Sydney's third straight and they climb into third place, ahead of Adelaide United on goal difference.

		P	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	Central Coast	18	11	5	2	17	38
2	Victory	18	10	3	5	3	33
3	Western Sydney	18	10	2	6	8	32
4	Adelaide	18	10	2	6	4	32
5	Heart	18	6	3	9	-2	21
6	Newcastle	17	6	3	8	-8	21
7	Brisbane	18	6	2	10	-1	20
8	Sydney	18	6	2	10	-9	20
9	Perth	18	5	4	9	-1	19
10	Wellington	17	4	4	9	-11	16

The Heart were left to rue a big opportunity to boost their finals hopes after Polenz's early exit, and the defeat leaves them in danger of dropping out of the top six.

Referee Strebre Delovski showed no hesitation in brandishing a red card early after David Williams had broken on goal before being clattered from behind by right back Polenz.

Tadic stepped up for the resulting penalty but couldn't convert it, with Ante Covic swatting his shot away with relative ease.

Midfielder Aaron Mooy was sacrificed for Lacopa La Rocca in a tactical switch and the Wanderers remained the more dangerous side.

Mark Bridge, Dino Kresinger and Ono all forced decent saves out of Andrew Redmayne while Nicholas Kalmar came closest for the visitors with a long-range drive in the 34th minute.

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As Australia Day fireworks exploded around the stadium, the tempo of the game slowed early the second half as the Heart started to grow into the game.

But Western Sydney regained the ascendancy and finally got their breakthrough when Youssouf Hersi - who had caused havoc in attack all night - was brought down in the box by David Vrankovic.

Ono stepped up and buried the penalty for his fifth goal of the season.

Tadic had a late chance for redemption but was denied by a great Covic stop.

In a positive for the Heart, former Socceroos midfielder Vince Grella made his long-awaited return from injury off the bench in the 67th minute, his first appearance since last playing for Blackburn in September, 2011.

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Striker Eli Babalj also came on, having returned to the club on after being released by Serbian club Red Star Belgrade.

Wanderers coach Tony Popovic felt the way his side reacted to going a man down showed how much it had matured.

"That's another first for us. The boys have shown that down to 10 men, they're not just going gung-ho. They're playing with structure and playing with belief and confidence,'' Popovic said.

"You could see at halftime in the change room, they really believed they could win the game. It wasn't just hope.''

The coach feared at one stage the Wanderers may not get a reward for their dominance.

"But I certainly would have been proud after the game whether we won or lost that one,'' Popovic said.

Heart coach John Aloisi was at a loss to explain his side's flat performance.

"We weren't good. The penalty incident I don't think would have changed much,'' Aloisi said.

"They were better than us ... which is disappointing because 10 against 11, you expect it to be the other way around.

"We can't be performing like that, it's just not good enough.''

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Azarenka downs Li in dramatic final

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Still the one ... Victoria Azarenka retains her No.1 ranking and Aussie Open crown. Source:AAP

Victoria Azarenka broke down in tears after retaining her Australian Open crown and world No.1 ranking with a drama-charged final triumph over Chinese challenger Li Na.

In an extraordinary encounter, Li needed two separate medical timeouts and was treated for possible concussion before finally succumbing 4-6 6-4 6-3 to the top seed after two hours and 40 suspense-filled minutes on Saturday night.

Australian Open: Ladies Singles

Round F, 26/01/13

Aza (1)	4	6	6
Li (6)	6	4	3

Li had hundreds of millions of Chinese hearts in mouths for the first time when she collapsed in a heap during the second set and hobbled off court.

She returned, though, six minutes later with her left ankle strapped and recovered from a service break down to draw level at 4-4 and close to within two games of taking the title.

Li looked for a second time like she may have to retire after falling heavily and hitting her head on the Melbourne Park centre court on the very first point after the resumption from a nine-minute break for the Australia Day fireworks.

Li was cleared after medical testing from tournament doctors and conjured a break point while leading 2-1 in the deciding set, only for Azarenka to rally and deny the 2011 French Open champion a place in the history books as the oldest woman to win the Open singles crown.

Had Azarenka lost, the Belarusian would also have relinquished her top ranking to Serena Williams, the reigning Wimbledon, US Open and Olympic champion.

Instead, she joins Williams (17), Venus Williams (7), Maria Sharapova (4) and Svetlana Kuznetsova (2) as the only active players with multiple grand slam titles.

It was not the most popular Open victory after the 23-year-old was roundly condemned for taking a controversial double medical timeout immediately after blowing five match points in her semi-final victory over American teenager Sloane Stephens.

While Li was afforded a rousing reception upon her entry to Rod Laver Arena, applause for Azarenka was subdued and at times the top seed was heckled by fans.

The Belarusian had the last laugh, though, collecting the winner's cheque for a record $2.43 million after seeing off Li in a tense rollercoaster ride lasting almost two-and-three-quarter hours.

"It's been a long two weeks for me," Azarenka admitted.

Li, turning 31 next month, had been bidding to remove Australian great Margaret Smith Court from a page in the Open record books as the oldest woman to reign in the 45-year open era.

Alas, lightning struck twice for the Chinese tennis pioneer who two years ago became her country's first and only major singles champion with a breakthrough success at Roland Garros.

Entering Saturday night's final, Li was the only player in the past 25 grand slam women's deciders to squander a one-set lead.

That defeat came against Kim Clijsters at Melbourne Park in 2011.

Now it has happened again in a final full of twists and turns.

But she vowed to return to try again.

"I know I'm not young, but I have to say I'm very (much) looking forward to next year," Li said.

Drama and tension aside, it was not the highest-quality final with the match featuring 16 service breaks and 77 unforced errors in 29 games.

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Warner heroics can't stop Sri Lanka

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Flying start ... Angelo Mathews and Thisara Perera celebrate Sri Lanka's win. Source: Rick Rycroft / AAP

David Warner's best-ever international innings couldn't help Australia turn around their reputation as Twenty20 battlers in a crushing five-wicket loss to Sri Lanka on Saturday night.

Sri Lanka lost 4-23 midway through their chase, but eventually cruised to victory with seven balls to spare in front of 40,242 fans on Australia Day at ANZ Stadium in Sydney.

T20 - ANZ Stadium

26 January 2013 - Day 1, Session 2

Sri Lanka 1st Innings

A. Mathews	35	27	3	1	129.63
T. Perera	19	12	0	2	158.33
B. Laughlin	3.5	0	46	0	12.00

Thisara Perera (19 off 12) brought up the win with consecutive sixes, after Kusal Janith Perera (33 from 22) and skipper Angelo Mathews (35no from 27) paved the way for victory.

Warner (90 from 62 balls) was let down badly by his fellow batsmen as Australia set a meek target of 138, despite losing just three wickets.

George Bailey was the only man other than Warner to find the fence - a solitary six in the ninth over.

Adam Voges (25 from 29) summed it up best: "I think Davey was playing on a different wicket to the rest of us."

Unfortunately for Australia, most of Sri Lanka's batsmen also found a way through the slow conditions.

Warner's excellent innings featured five boundaries and three heaving sixes.

But it counted for little, with usual big-hitters Aaron Finch (1), Shaun Marsh (6) and Bailey (11) failing to take golden opportunities to ride on the coat-tails of arguably the world's best T20 striker.

Bailey called Australia "underachievers" before the first of two T20Is against Sri Lanka.

Despite promises to turn things around, that tag remains for the team ranked a lowly seventh in the world - who play Sri Lanka again on Monday in Melbourne.

Tasmanian carpenter Ben Laughlin stung Tillakaratne Dilshan with a vicious bouncer in the fourth over and then took a spectacular leaping catch in the seventh to inspire hope in the Australians.

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Left bloodied above his eye by the bouncer, Dilshan hit Xavier Doherty over Laughlin's head into the out-field - only for the recalled quick to sprint with his back to the ball and reel in one of the catches of the summer.

In-form Doherty took two wickets, as did Indian Test hopeful Glenn Maxwell - but it wasn't nearly enough protecting such a slender total.

Bailey and Warner said Australia fell 10 to 15 runs short of posting a par score, but credited the expert bowling of Sri Lankan pace weapons Lasith Malinga (0-19 from four) and Nuwan Kulasekara (1-21 from four) at the death.

Warner described Malinga as a "genius", while Bailey refused to blame Voges in particular for not hitting out earlier with seven wickets in hand.

Bailey said shabby fielding - including numerous dropped chances - cost Australia any chance of victory.

But he was reluctant to make changes ahead of Monday's match.

"Our fielding was disappointing and probably cost us 10 runs and that adds up," he said.

"I thought Sri Lanka bowled unbelievably well their last four overs. Any side that can bowl to Davey set and deprive him of boundaries ... they executed unbelievably well."

Warner said it was unusual to score nearly two thirds of the team's total and not win the match.

The 26-year-old defended the performances of Finch and Marsh, denying they were nervous.

"I don't think they had any fear in their eyes at all either, they're two quality players, they've been in fantastic form and it's just one of those nights where it doesn't come off," Warner said.

Mathews said an assessment is needed on Dilshan's health and availability for Monday.

The Sri Lankan captain said his side did all the little things right in the field and praised Malinga and Kulasekara - who allowed just 14 runs in the final two overs - as the difference.

"We started brilliantly, we were electric in the field and the bowlers bowled extremely well," he said.

"Lasith and Kulasekara were the ones who pulled us back.''

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Brisbane scrape through in Perth

Breaking through ... Brisbane's Thomas Broich makes a run through Perth's defence. Source: AAP

A 30-metre wonder strike from Brisbane midfielder James Meyer lifted the Roar to a crucial 1-0 A-League triumph over an injury-riddled Perth Glory at nib Stadium on Saturday night.

Brisbane entered the match on a three-game losing streak and with their finals hopes hanging by a thread.

But Meyer's low drive in the 16th minute was enough to secure a vital three points, the win lifting the Roar into seventh spot and back to within a point of the top six.

		P	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	Central Coast	18	11	5	2	17	38
2	Victory	18	10	3	5	3	33
3	Western Sydney	18	10	2	6	8	32
4	Adelaide	18	10	2	6	4	32
5	Heart	18	6	3	9	-2	21
6	Newcastle	17	6	3	8	-8	21
7	Brisbane	18	6	2	10	-1	20
8	Sydney	18	6	2	10	-9	20
9	Perth	18	5	4	9	-1	19
10	Wellington	17	4	4	9	-11	16

The ninth-placed Glory have now gone six straight games without a win, but remain just two points adrift of sixth spot.

Perth almost snatched a share of the spoils in a frantic final few minutes, but Nick Ward and Ryo Nagai saw their goalward-bound attempts cleared off the line.

The Glory limped into the match missing six players from their first-choice line-up.

Midfielder Liam Miller and defender Josh Risdon were suspended, while Bas van den Brink and Dean Heffernan (back) couldn't be considered.

But the biggest losses were that of striker Shane Smeltz (groin) and skipper Jacob Burns (back), their absence leaving a gaping hole.

Brisbane were also missing a host of key players, with skipper Matt Smith (hip), Henrique (hip), Jade North, Besart Berisha (suspended) and Shane Steffanutto (suspended) all unavailable.

Glory created the better chances of the first half and both Travis Dodd and Steve Pantelidis should have put away their close-range efforts early on.

Those misses proved costly, with Meyer giving Brisbane the lead against the run of play.

Meyer's charge towards goal looked fairly innocuous at first, but his unexpected low drive beat a diving Danny Vukovic, who was furious to let in the long-range goal.

Glory had a penalty appeal turned down in the 54th minute when Chris Harold crashed to the ground after trying to squeeze his way past two Roar defenders.

And Brisbane goalkeeper Michael Theo endured some nervy moments two minutes later when he charged 11 metres outside of his box but failed to clear the ball.

Glory midfielder Nick Ward streamed towards goal.

But with only a Roar defender manning the net, Ward sent his shot high of the target.

The passage of play summed up Glory's night, with the home side left ruing a series of missed chances to square the game.

Meanwhile, the Roar announced on Saturday that they've signed Australian youth international Steven Lustica on loan until the end of the club's A-League and Asian Champions League commitments.

Lustica has been loaned to the Roar from Croatian powerhouse Hajduk Split.

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Duke double wins it for Mariners

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Matchwinner ... Mitch Duke scored a double for the Mariners. Source:AAP

Young striker Mitchell Duke came off the bench to fire Central Coast to a come-from-behind 3-1 victory over Adelaide and extend their lead atop the A-League.

Duke scored twice in the second half to turn what had been a frustrating match for the Mariners in front of 8294 fans at Bluetongue Stadium.

Despite totally dominating the first half, the home side trailed 1-0 at halftime of the top-of-the-table clash after Reds defender Daniel Bowles' scored against the run of play.

		P	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	Central Coast	18	11	5	2	17	38
2	Adelaide	18	10	2	6	4	32
3	Victory	17	9	3	5	1	30
4	Western Sydney	17	9	2	6	7	29
5	Heart	17	6	3	8	-1	21
6	Newcastle	17	6	3	8	-8	21
7	Sydney	17	6	2	9	-7	20
8	Perth	17	5	4	8	0	19
9	Brisbane	17	5	2	10	-2	17
10	Wellington	17	4	4	9	-11	16

But Duke's performance, and an inspired substitution by Graham Arnold, ensured Central Coast moved six points clear of second-placed Adelaide.

Arnold was delighted with the performance, comparing it to the Mariners' 7-2 thumping of Sydney FC earlier this season.

"It was up there with our best (performance) of the season," Arnold said.

"I think if we were more clinical in front of goals, you could have had another Sydney FC score. We had that many chances.

"I think the boys really stepped up tonight and set their own standards again and they have to maintain them."

Arnold was full of praise for Duke, who started in the season opener but has struggled with an ankle injury since.

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"Over the last few week he's been getting back to his best," Arnold said.

"I just said to him 'it's your night, tonight. No one else has been able to put it in, so put it in' and it was two great finishes."

Midfielder Michael McGlinchey sealed the win with a goal in the 89th minute.

Celtic-bound playmaker Tom Rogic was officially farewelled at halftime and life after the young playmaker won't be looking quite as dim following the performance of 22-year-old Duke.

He entered the game in the 61st minute in place of Oliver Bozanic and needed only six minutes to pull the Mariners level.

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The Reds failed to defuse a Nick Montgomery cross and Duke was on hand to poke the ball home for his second A-League goal.

Duke was again involved a short time later as his cross was handballed by Bowles in the box and referee Peter O'Leary pointed to the penalty spot.

League top scorer Daniel McBreen stepped up but had this spot kicked denied by a brilliant diving save from Eugene Galekovic.

The miss was quickly forgotten, though, when Duke gave the Mariners the lead in the 72nd minute with a fine solo effort.

He controlled the ball well, created space for himself, then unleashed a powerful shot from just outside the box to score.

Duke would have had a hat-trick if not for another great save by Galekovic.

Arnold also introduced new signing Nick Fitzgerald and he provided the assist as McGlinchey scored from close range in the dying minutes.

Remarkably, Adelaide took a 1-0 lead into halftime despite being totally dominated by the Mariners.

The home side's best opportunities came in a frantic three-minute period, with Bernie Ibini hitting the side netting from a dangerous McBreen ball in the 16th minute.

Ibini then made a spectacular run into the box two minutes later before Bozanic scuffed a shot, allowing Galekovic to stop it from point-blank range.

The frustration continued as McBreen struck the post a minute later and chances continues to go begging as the half went on.

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Adelaide almost stole the lead against the run of play in the 36th minute through Jeronimo Neumann but they did so three minutes later.

Bowles' long-range shot took a deflection off Bozanic and Mariners 'keeper Mat Ryan could do little as it went in off the left upright.

Adelaide coach John Kosmina admitted his side was simply outplayed.

"There's a reason they're top and we're not - they're a good side," Kosmina said.

"Having said that, we turned the ball over way too cheaply.

"If you keep doing that you're going to build pressure on yourself and eventually you're going to start to feel the pinch."

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Parked cars blamed for TDU crash

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Carnage ... Tim Duggan was one of the cyclists to go down in a crash. Source: Ben MacMahon / AAP

Retired Australian cycling legend Robbie McEwen has blamed parked cars for helping contribute to another massive crash at the Tour Down Under.

But race director Mike Turtur says that is "ridiculous" and blamed the crash on rider error.

Chief commissaire Peter Stuppacher also defended the road conditions at the end of stage four on Friday.

German sprint ace Andre Greipel (Lotto-Belisol) won the 126.5km stage from suburban Modbury to the Barossa town of Tanunda, meaning he has broken McEwen's race record for stage victories.

It was Greipel's third win in Adelaide this week and he is now the most prolific stage winner in the Tour's 15-year history with 13.

Australian riders Graeme Brown (Blanco) and Bernie Sulzberger (UniSA) went to hospital for X-rays after the sickening pile-up in the last kilometre.

Brown lost a horrific amount of skin off his left forearm, but tweeted he had not broken any bones, while Sulzberger has a badly-damaged finger.

The crash took out about 15 riders, including Orica-GreenEDGE's sprint train of Matt Goss, Daryl Impey and Jens Mouris.

"I ended up going into the side of a (parked) car," Goss said.

The crash happened on a flat, wide and straight stretch of road, with the riders travelling at close to 70km/h.

The bike of Zak Dempster (UniSA) was left in pieces by the force of the impact.

"They might say no-one actually hit them (cars), the crashes were in the middle of the road, but the problem is riders swing away from the cars," said McEwen, who retired from cycling last year.

"It goes across the bunch like a wave - somebody cops it and they crash over the other side.

"It comes directly from having cars there ... it's not good enough."

But Turtur strongly disagreed.

"It is basically a situation of rider error in the sprint," he said.

"To suggest parked cars contributed to the crash is ridiculous."

Turtur added the Tour had crash barriers for the last 800m - more than many major European races.

Stuppacher also backed the road conditions and called the crash a race incident.

There were also two other crashes in the last few kilometres as riders frantically fought for position.

One left American sprinter Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Sharp) with some cuts and abrasions.

There was also a high-speed crash on a descent near the end of stage two that took out a large group of riders.

Welsh star Geraint Thomas (Sky) stayed out of trouble again on Friday and maintained his five-second overall lead heading into Saturday's decisive stage at Willunga, south of Adelaide.

The 151.5km Queen stage of the Tour features a hilltop finish and two ascents of the testing Old Willunga Hill climb.

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Man U confirm Zaha signing

Wilfried Zaha ... is set to undergo a medical at Manchester United. Source: Daniel Hambury / AAP

Manchester United have struck a deal with Crystal Palace for the London club's highly-rated winger Wilfried Zaha to join them in July.

A statement on United's official website said that the 20-year-old, who won his first England cap in November, will stay at Palace till the end of the season and then make the move to Old Trafford.

"The player is having a medical in Manchester today (Friday, January 25). There will be no further comment by any party until Wilfried joins United in July 2013."

Palace confirmed that Zaha had agreed personal terms and that he had been loaned back to them for the remainder of the current campaign.

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said: "We are signing a player of potential. We always feel we develop players well. We have proved that many times. We hope the boy enjoys coming here, when he comes in the summer."

Zaha told Palace's official website www.cpfc.co.uk: "I am delighted to be joining Manchester United and ending the recent speculation.

Palace co-chairman Steve Parish said: "I feel this is a great deal for the club and the player. We would like to thank Wilf for all he has done for the club and we all wish him well when he joins Manchester United in the summer.

"It was essential to Wilf and ourselves that he stayed at Palace for the remainder of this season to help the club with its main aim of promotion to the Premier League."

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Murray claws into Open final

Gritty ... Andy Murray grinds past Roger Federer to book a date with Novak Djokovic. Source: Dennis Sabangan / AAP

Andy Murray has clawed his way into Sunday night's Australian Open tennis final against world No.1 Novak Djokovic after seeing off his former grand slam nemesis Roger Federer in a nerve-straining five-setter.

Djokovic would have been delighted to watch Murray slug it out 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 6-7 (2-7) 6-2 in exactly four hours on Friday night after strolling through his own semi-final against David Ferrer a night earlier in just 89 minutes.

Australian Open: Mens Singles

Round SF, 25/01/13

Mur (3)	6	6	6	6	6
Fed (2)	4	7	3	7	2

Murray's win sets up a rematch of the US Open final, where he beat the Serb for his maiden grand slam title, and he will be trying to become the first man in the open era to notch his first two major victories back-to-back.

But he could not have made much harder work of beating Federer.

The Scot was in control for much of the night, but kept Federer hanging on with poor tiebreakers in both the second and fourth sets as well as failing to serve out the match when he had the chance in the fourth.

Their only three previous grand slam meetings had been in finals, with Federer victorious on each occasion, all before Murray had broken his grand slam duck.

But the Scottish third seed, buoyed by his US Open win and victory over Federer in last year's Olympic gold medal match, looked confident from the start of their semi-final.

Murray controlled the first set, putting constant pressure on Federer's serve and picking up an early break while having little trouble on serve himself.

With great rhythm on serve and his excellent court-coverage making it unusually difficult for Federer to finish points, the Scot also held the upper hand for most of the second set.

That was until the tiebreaker, when forehand unforced errors on three consecutive points put him 3-1 down.

After levelling at 5-5, a badly mistimed Murray overhead allowed Federer to rip a backhand winner past the Scot and gain a set point, which he converted.

But Murray hit back hard, racing through the third set, which he capped with his 16th ace.

A mental lapse contributed to him dropping serve for the first time early in the fourth set, but he broke back, then looked poised to quickly finish Federer off when he broke again, to love, for a 6-5 lead.

But after the Scot went up 30-15 to be two points from victory, Federer reeled off the next three to force a tiebreaker, then stormed through that to level the match.

As in the third set, Murray channelled frustration into renewed venom, speeding through the first three games of the fifth.

This time there was no let-off for Federer as Murray kept his foot down all the way to the finish.

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Hazards: Sports' best brain snaps

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Brain snaps ... Athletes can lose their cool when the going gets tough. Source:Fox Sports

Live sport is all about being close to the action, but that's not exactly what these fans and officials were expecting when they had their run-ins with sports elite.

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Hazardous job

In Thursday morning's League Cup match - in scenes needed to be seen to be believed - Chelsea star Eden Hazard appeared to kick a ballboy, who wasn't letting go of the ball, in the stomach.

Hazard was shown a red card, and may yet face further sanctioning, but he isn't the first sportsperson to see the red mist descend in a moment of madness.

Cantona attempts to kick racism out of football

Who can forget Eric Cantona reacting to crowd abuse by hurling himself into the Selhurt Park stands and delivering a kung-fu kick and a series of punches to Crystal Palace fan Matthew Simmons back in 1995?

Cantona received a lengthy ban, but it could have been far worse, his two-week prison sentence eventually overturned on appeal.

Alderman's unfortunate tackle

Terry Alderman discovered the perils of taking on a fan during the 1982-1983 Ashes series when he tackled a pitch invader to the ground.

Alderman dislocated his shoulder in the process and was out of the game for a year, not that it deterred future cricketers, as Andrew Symonds showed when he put the shoulder into a streaker in 2008.

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Watch our video at the top of the page of sports best brain snaps and let us know any we have missed by leaving a comment at the bottom of the page.

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Williams unleashes volley of abuse

The sport brain snap isn't always physical, as tennis superstar Serena Williams showed with a foul-mouthed tirade to a lineswoman at the 2009 US Open.

Irate at a foot fault call at a crucial point in the match, Williams unleashed on the official, reportedly threatening: "I swear to god I'm f***kin going to take this ball and shove it down your f**kin mouth."

Serena later apologised but the damage was already done.

Ron Artest ... brawls with NBA fans in 2004. Source: AP

Ron Artest before his World Peace days

What's the best way to start a fight with an athlete? Throw a cup of soft drink at them of course. That's what happened to Indiana Pacers star Ron Artest during wild NBA brawl in 2004.

A scuffle between players quickly spilled into the stands, with Artest, who has since changed his name to Metta World Peace, fighting with four different fans.

Artest was suspended for an NBA-record 86 games and lost close to $5m in prize money for his role in the ugly incident.

Carmen uses his head

Former Aussie rules bad boy Phil Carmen was never far from the headlines during his career and received a 20-week ban for headbutting an umpire and striking an opponent in a match against St Kilda in 1980.

Carmen marked his return to the game from suspension in the only way he knew how, by being reported.

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Have we missed any great sporting brain snaps? Let us know by leaving a comment below or by tweeting to @FoxSportsNews using the hashtag #fsnbrainsnaps.

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Djokovic through to Aus Open final

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Slammin Serb ... Novak Djokovic celebrates another semi final win at the Australian Open. Source: Dita Alangkara / AP

World No.1 Novak Djokovic will be fresh, confident and in near-perfect form for Sunday night's shot at a record third straight Australian Open title after charging through his semi-final against David Ferrer.

Djokovic made the Spanish fourth seed look like a junior hitting partner as he won 6-2 6-2 6-1 in just 89 minutes on Thursday night.

Australian Open: Mens Singles

Round SF, 24/01/13

Djo (1)	6	6	6
Fer (4)	2	2	1

Ferrer, who has now played in five major semi-finals but never a final, is renowned as a running machine who always keeps fighting.

Those attributes were never going to be enough as the bigger, stronger Djokovic ran the Spaniard around the court then finished points with style and power to keep his unbeaten grand slam record against Ferrer intact.

Djokovic won more than twice as many points as Ferrer, at one stage during the second set stringing together 12 in a row to underline the one-way nature of the contest.

He rode a confidence wave through the third set, making spectacular winners look regulation, as he gave up just 11 points for the set.

The Serb, who extended his Melbourne Park winning streak to 20, will now await the victor of what is expected to be a much closer and more gruelling semi-final on Friday night between 17-time grand slam winner Roger Federer and US Open champion Andy Murray.

Djokovic said playing like he did against Ferrer was a rare feeling.

"I played incredible tennis," he said.

"I felt very comfortable and very confident from the start.

"I was aware of David's quality, I wanted to be aggressive on the court, but this is definitely one of the best performances I've had in my career."

He said it was no coincidence such a stellar showing came at Melbourne Park.

"This has been my most successful grand slam - I love this court, I love this atmosphere," Djokovic said.

"I'm just pleased to have another shot at the title." 

Djokovic's previous three Australian Open finals have all resulted in wins - in 2008 and the past two years - setting him up with a chance on Sunday night to become the first man in the open era to claim three in a row.

If it's Federer he's playing, both finalists will be seeking a slice of history, as the Swiss great will be chasing his fifth Australian Open crown, which would be an open era record.

If Murray wins through, it will set up a rematch of the most recent grand slam final, when the Scot won his maiden major title at last year's US Open, beating Djokovic in a near-five-hour five-setter.

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