Murray diffuses spat with Federer

Andy Murray played down an on-court altercation with Roger Federer after beating the Swiss to advance to his third Australian Open final.

The incident occurred in the 12th game of the fourth set when Federer appeared to shout an obscenity at the third seed after believing he had stopped mid-point and was going to challenge a line-call on the baseline.

Instead Murray played on and won the point with a forehand winner as Federer came in behind a weak approach.

Asked about it afterwards, Murray claimed "stuff like that happens daily in tennis matches" but would not elaborate on what was said.

It happened at a key juncture with Murray serving for the match. A fired-up Federer promptly broke and won the tie-breaker to take it to a deciding set.

Murray had the final word, though, cruising through the fifth to complete a 6-4 6-7 (5/7) 6-3 6-7 (2/7) 6-2 victory, his first over Federer in a grand slam, in exactly four hours.

"It was very mild in comparison with what happens in other sports. It was just one of those things," said Murray, who will meet defending champion Novak Djokovic in Sunday's final.

"There's no hard feelings."

Federer also refused to hype up the incident, saying: "It wasn't a big deal.

"We just looked at each other one time. That's okay. We were just checking each other out a bit.

"It wasn't a big deal for me and I hope not for him."

The disagreement should not overshadow a performance from Murray which again showed he is now very much the equal of Federer, Djokovic and the currently injured Rafael Nadal.

In the last seven months, the Scot has reached the final of Wimbledon, losing to Federer, taken his revenge to win Olympic gold and also won his first grand slam title at the US Open.

And in winning on Friday night, he also became the first Briton to reach three Melbourne finals.

His victory owed much to the way he was able to bounce back from losing two tie-breaks.

In the first, he made a horrible misjudgement at 5-5, attempting a slam dunk smash on a ball which was going well out, only succeeding in popping it over the net for Federer to put away.

The second came shortly after missing the chance to serve out the match and when Federer was in full flow.

But the 25-year-old showed great composure to gather himself to run through the decider after taking a 3-0 lead in just 12 minutes.

It was nothing more than he deserved for an excellent performance which saw him dominate for long spells.

Two statistics were particularly telling: Murray had a winner/unforced error differential of plus 15 with Federer's minus 17; and the Scot won 63 per cent of points on his second serve compared to just 42 per cent for the Swiss.

"It was a tough match," said Murray. "A lot of ups and downs.

"But I thought I did a good job, I did all the things I needed to do and I did them well.

"To lose the second and fourth sets from good positions was tough but I was happy with the way I responded."

Djokovic will go into the final as favourite but Murray admits his task has been made slightly easier as he has the memories of New York and the London Games to draw on for inspiration.

"These matches have helped mentally," he said.

"I think going through a lot of the losses that I've had will have helped me as well.

"I've been questioned for large parts of my career about physically would I be strong enough? Mentally would I be strong enough? Do I listen to my coaches? Blah, blah, blah.

"Whatever it is I can handle the pressure.

"Hopefully on Sunday I can play a good match.

"And obviously having won against Novak before in a slam final will help."

Federer had no arguments with the result and admitted he was playing catch up for most of the night.

"I was down in the score basically from the start," said the 17-time grand slam champion.

"It was more of a chase although I was able to level a couple of times.

"I think Andy was a bit better than I was tonight [Friday]. I was hoping to do a bit better but overall I'm pretty pleased with the tournament."

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Woods takes lead at Torrey Pines

Tiger Woods made a blistering start to his second round at the Farmers Insurance Open on Friday to race into a three-shot lead in La Jolla, California.

Woods, who missed the cut at last week's Abu Dhabi Championship and started Friday three shots behind overnight leaders Brandt Snedeker and KJ Choi, recorded four birdies and an eagle three in his opening 11 holes after starting on the back nine on the north course of the Torrey Pines golf course.

That left the six-time tournament champion on 10 under heading into his final seven holes, three shots clear of a group of four players in second place - Charles Howell III, Choi, Luke Guthrie and Luke List.

Guthrie was the biggest mover of that quartet, finishing his front nine on three under for the day, while Howell and List were one under after 12 and five, respectively, on the north course.

Choi, meanwhile, was level par after 11 having seen his two birdies wiped out by two bogeys.

Defending champion Snedeker, who started with a 65 on Thursday to share the lead with Choi, had slipped back to six under on Friday after a dropped shot at the first left him one over after five.

England's Ross Fisher, the leading European on the leaderboard, was in joint sixth on six under for the tournament after playing his opening four holes to par on Friday.

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Bologna, Roma play out six-goal thriller

Bologna and Roma shared six goals between them at the Stadio Dall'Ara, living up to the pre-match expectations in an entertaining 3-3 draw.

It was not a game that either home coach Stefano Pioli or his Roma counterpart Zdenek Zeman will have taken particular pleasure in watching given the defensive shortcomings, but the fans certainly got their money's worth from a contest with numerous twists and turns.

Alessandro Florenzi gave Roma the lead in the ninth minute, but Alberto Gilardino levelled in the 17th minute.

Daniel Osvaldo put Roma back in front within a minute only for Manolo Gabbiadini to re-establish parity before the break.

Cristian Pasquato put Bologna ahead for the first time in the game in the 54th minute but Panagiotis Tachtsidis scored the final goal in the 74th minute before Bologna hit the woodwork twice.

Frederik Sorensen missed a good early chance for Bologna, and it was a prelude for what was to come.

Roma took the lead with their first attack in the ninth minute when Francesco Totti set up Florenzi, who managed to thread the ball past a defender and Federico Agliardi into the far corner.

Bologna responded in the 17th minute when Gabbiadini's shot was parried by Goicoechea and Gilardino followed up to poke the loose ball in.

The home side barely had time to celebrate when they found themselves behind once again. Miralem Pjanic's cross picked out the unmarked Osvaldo, who headed Roma back in front from close range.

Bologna levelled again in the 26th minute, with Gabbiadini cutting in from the right and threading his shot through the legs of Nicolas Burdisso and inside Goicoechea's near post.

Gilardino volleyed into the side-netting as chances continued to arrive at both ends of the field, with Michael Bradley flashing a volley across goal and wide of the far post.

It was a familiar story to the second half with Bologna regaining the upper hand just 10 minutes in through Pasquato, who scored his first goal in Serie A after Goicoechea and Burdisso both got in each other's way again.

Five goals were not enough, though, and the next one went Roma's way with Tachtsidis finding room for a free-header to bring the Giallorossi back on terms.

There was even more drama with Agliardi making an instinctive save to prevent Osvaldo from giving Roma the lead in the 83rd minute.

Despite Roma's late pressure, Bologna went closest to snatching a winner with Diamanti hitting the woodwork twice.

In the 87th minute his shot cannoned back off the inside of the far post, while deep into stoppage time he sent a direct free-kick on to the crossbar.

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Hernandez: United want to win the treble

Javier Hernandez wants to party like it's 1999 - and emulate Manchester United's treble heroes.

Hernandez put the gloss on United's 4-1 win over Fulham on Saturday, scoring twice to take his tally for the campaign to 14.

More importantly, it sealed a place in the FA Cup fifth round, and kept his side in with a chance of repeating the greatest season in Red Devils' history.

"We want to win all three. We want to win the treble," said Hernandez.

"It is in our minds. We need to think game by game, get the points in the league and get though in both cup competitions."

Hernandez has now exceeded last season's goalscoring total, although typically, the Mexican is not interested in personal accolades, not even that long-awaited hat-trick, having once again fallen marginally short.

"I am always looking for the famous hat-trick," he said.

"But the most important thing for me right now is to win the treble.

"Next we have two games in the league. After that there is the international break, we play another league game and then Real Madrid, so the calendar is busy and we are looking forward to it."

United's campaign is progressing reasonably smoothly towards Wednesday's Old Trafford encounter with Southampton.

A couple of dropped points at Tottenham and an irritating Aaron Hughes consolation apart, manager Sir Alex Ferguson has little to bother him just now.

That Hernandez and Wayne Rooney both carved their names on the scoresheet on a day when Robin van Persie remained on the bench throughout underlines the strength at Ferguson's disposal.

The Old Trafford chief will be aware that there could be few more accommodating opponents than Fulham, who surrendered in meek fashion and failed to put under-fire David de Gea under any significant pressure after Ferguson kept faith with him, which pleased former United goalkeeping coach Tony Coton.

"The criticism of De Gea has not just been over the top this week, it has been all season," Coton told MUTV.

"Whenever a goal goes in they seem to point the finger at David.

"I hoped he would play, just to shut the rumours up that he had been dropped."

And Coton believes United should stick with De Gea because he does not see any worthwhile alternatives that could realistically be attracted to the club.

"Over the years we looked at a lot," he said.

"We looked at Buffon but there was no way we could get him. He just didn't want to come out of Italy.

"We tried to get Edwin van der Sar a lot earlier than we did but it didn't happen.

"It is not a matter of 'it is Manchester United, we must be able to get them'. There are certain situations when you can't."

De Gea went about his business confidently on Saturday, although with Ryan Giggs pulling the strings in midfield, United's goal rarely came under threat.

Giggs' early penalty, 20 years after he scored his first FA Cup goal, was suitable reward for his endeavours, whilst midfield partner Anderson can also look back on the game with pleasure.

The Brazilian has spent far too long on the sidelines during his Red Devils career but the precise through ball to set Rooney up for his 10th goal of the campaign was a further reminder of his capabilities.

"I am still not 100%," said Anderson, who was making only his second appearance since spending six weeks on the sidelines with a hamstring strain.

"Maybe I need one or two more games, then I think I'll be okay.

"It's important for me to not have any more injuries because every time I think things are fine I end up having to stay out for a month and train hard to get back again.

"Now we are just taking it slowly and trying to ensure there are no problems."

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Azarenka: 2013 win more emotional

Victoria Azarenka admits the successful defence of her Australian Open crown was "way more emotional" than her grand slam breakthrough 12 months ago.

The Belarusian claimed her first major title in Melbourne in 2012 but she believes the roller-coaster of emotions she has been on in the past fortnight - and, in particular, the past few days - means her latest achievement will always be special.

Azarenka beat Li Na in the final yesterday, two days after edging out Sloane Stephens in a controversial semi after which she was heavily criticised.

The 23-year-old was accused of taking a medical time-out against Stephens to simply calm her nerves after squandering five match points deep in the second set.

She later explained she had required treatment for a rib injury which left her struggling to breathe.

Despite her lengthy protestations of innocence, there were a still a smattering of boos when she made her way on to Rod Laver Arena for the final with the majority of fans clearly rooting for her Chinese opponent.

Although she lost the first set, Azarenka managed to come through to win 4-6 6-4 6-3, after which she broke down in tears.

Asked to compare her win with last January, she said: "It's a completely different mix of feelings.

"This one is way more emotional. It's going to be extra special for sure.

"I never compare my wins or losses in any tournaments, it's just a matter of the feeling you get, things you've been through, because you're the only one who knows what you've been going through these two weeks.

"So it's definitely an emotional one and it's going to be special."

On the Stephens incident, she added: "What happened with Sloane was a big deal.

"It came out as a big deal.

"But I take it as a great learning experience and just try to live the moment and take the best things out of what happened and move forward.

"Two weeks is (a long time) to keep your cool because in one way it seems so short and in another so long."

Azarenka was on her best behaviour in the final, and she hopes she may have won some fans over.

"I don't know, I hope so," she said.

"That's out of my hands really.

"I just try to be the best tennis player there is.

"I cannot go back in time and I can't go forward in time.

"I can just take control of what I can. I've done that and I'm really proud of that."

Li, who twice suffered nasty falls during the final, attempted to look on the bright side despite her second Melbourne final defeat.

The last time she lost here, to Kim Clijsters in 2011, she went on to win her first major at the French Open a few months later and she is hoping history repeats itself.

She said: "I think Maria did the same thing (last year). She lost the final here and she won the French.

"Also Ana Ivanovic did it (in 2008).

"So I hope I can do the same this year as well."

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Fergie: Jones offers more than Terry

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson believes that Phil Jones has more to offer as a player than John Terry did at the same age.

The former Blackburn defender was a significant obstacle for the visiting Fulham attackers as United ran out easy 4-1 winners at Old Trafford in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday. 

It meant that the watching Rio Ferdinand, benched for the game, could enjoy a rare day off as his deputy stole the show for the night. 

The 20-year-old has steadily improved since signing for the Red Devils in 2011 and has even impressed as a right-back and as a midfielder in previous matches. After the Fulham rout, Ferguson was quick to praise the defender for his improvement as a player and indicated his belief that his young charge has demonstrated a wider array of skills than Terry did as a youngster. 

"Jones has got more in his locker than John [Terry]. Terry has got the ­experience and has become a fantastic central figure at Chelsea," Ferguson told reporters. "But as a young player, John [Terry] would be the first to admit he didn't have the pace of Phil Jones."

"Phil is a ­versatile boy, he can play anywhere.

"He's quick, two-footed, reads games well and is competitive. He's doing very well."

With regards to Ferdinand, the Scotsman does not think that the veteran defender will feature for England in the near future after being snubbed by national coach Roy Hodgson for the Euros. Nevertheless, Ferguson retains his confidence in the 34-year-old and feels Ferdinand would have no problem signing a one-year extension to his expiring contract. 

“He’s had a great season but Roy Hogdson didn’t pick him for the Euros so I don’t see it happening.

"I don't think there is any reason why not [United shouldn't give one-year contracts]. We give players one-year contracts. There is nothing wrong with that.

"I don't think players with the reputation and ability of Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Rio Ferdinand should worry about a one-year contract.

"It's not to say we doubt them in terms of longevity. When players get to their 30s you never know how they will cope with getting older. Some do, some don't."

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Real sweep aside Getafe in easy win

Real Madrid set aside their off-field distractions to sweep aside 4-0 Getafe in a one-sided La Liga encounter on Sunday.

Cristiano Ronaldo took centre stage for Jose Mourinho's side as he fired in a second-half hat-trick to take his tally in the league this season to 21 from as many games.

Sergio Ramos opened the scoring for the hosts after 54 minutes to set Madrid on their way to a victory that closes the gap on leaders Barcelona to 12 points ahead of their match against Osasuna later on Sunday.

Sunday's display will go some way to improving the mood in the Madrid camp, after a week spent denying allegations of a rift between Mourinho and a group of key players at the Bernabeu.

Mourinho at least was unable to court further controversy on Sunday after club captain Iker Casillas, who has been dropped by the coach in some recent games, was ruled out with a broken hand that is likely to see him sidelined for up to three months.

Antonio Adan was therefore able to take his place in goal without any disgruntlement from Madrid's fans ringing in his ears, although in truth Mourinho could have played between the sticks himself, such was Madrid's dominance.

The hosts failed to make a breakthrough in the opening 45 minutes, however, although Ronaldo twice forced Miguel Moya to make decent saves, while Mesut Ozil also drew a good stop from the Getafe goalkeeper.

The opening goal arrived nine minutes into the second half, although there was more than a little bit of good fortune in the build-up.

After Angel Di Maria hung up a corner from the right, Moya appeared to be impeded by Ricardo Carvalho as they challenged for the ball, but referee Jose Luis Gonzalez allowed play to continue, leaving Ramos free to bundle the ball home from inside the six-yard box.

Gonzalo Higuain headed over as Madrid hunted a second, which Ronaldo supplied in the 62nd minute.

A swift counter-attack led to Ozil releasing Ronaldo on the left side of the Getafe box, and the Portuguese showed all his class as he cut inside and tucked a low finish beyond Moya.

Three minutes later it was 3-0 as Di Maria sent a cross to the back post and Ronaldo had a simple task to head home.

The points were rubber-stamped with 18 minutes remaining after Luka Modric was bundled over in the area to allow Ronaldo to step up and complete his treble with a low finish from 12 yards.

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