Andy Murray upset a few people in Dubai last week as he confirmed that his season was solely based on big performances in the Grand Slams when admitting that he was only using the Dubai Open as a training exercise.

Murray, runner-up in the Australian Open to Roger Federer, fell in the second round of the Doha event to Janko Tipsarevic to leave sponsors, who had also parted with a decent appearance fee to the Scot, open mouthed.

Murray claimed that his performance levels against the tricky Serbian player, who beat him 7-6 4-6 6-4, would have been different had it been a major tournament, bringing into question what can be expected from him in the run-up to the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open later in the summer.

The official list of past and present Australian Open men’s singles champions and their opponents during the final:

2010 Roger Federer (Switzerland) beat Andy Murray (Britain) 6-3 6-4 7-6
2009 Rafael Nadal (Spain) beat Roger Federer (Switzerland) 7-5 3-6 7-6 3-6 6-2
2008 Novak Djokovic (Serbia) beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France) 4-6 6-4 6-3 7-6
2007 Roger Federer (Switzerland) beat Fernando Gonzalez (Chile) 7-6 6-4 6-4
2006 Roger Federer (Switzerland) beat Marcos Baghdatis (Cyprus) 5-7 7-5 6-0 6-2
2005 Marat Safin (Russia) beat Lleyton Hewitt (Australia) 1-6 6-3 6-4 6-4
2004 Roger Federer (Switzerland) beat Marat Safin (Russia) 7-6 6-4 6-2
2003 Andre Agassi (U.S.) beat Rainer Schuettler (Germany) 6-2 6-2 6-1
2002 Thomas Johansson (Sweden) beat Marat Safin (Russia) 3-6 6-4 6-4 7-6
2001 Andre Agassi (U.S.) beat Arnaud Clement (France) 6-4 6-2 6-2
2000 Andre Agassi (U.S.) beat Yevgeny Kafelnikov (Russia) 3-6 6-3 6-2 6-4

The official list of past and present Australian Open women’s singles champions and their opponents during the final:

2010 Serena Williams (U.S.) bt Justine Henin (Belgium) 6-4 3-6 6-2
2009 Serena Williams (U.S.) bt Dinara Safina (Russia) 6-0 6-3
2008 Maria Sharapova (Russia) bt Ana Ivanovic (Serbia) 7-5 6-3
2007 Serena Williams (U.S.) bt Maria Sharapova (Russia) 6-1 6-2
2006 Amelie Mauresmo (France) bt Justine Henin-Hardenne (Belgium) 6-1 2-0 retired
2005 Serena Williams (U.S.) bt Lindsay Davenport (U.S.) 2-6 6-3 6-0
2004 Justine Henin-Hardenne (Belgium) bt Kim Clijsters (Belgium) 6-3 4-6 6-3
2003 Serena Williams (U.S.) beat Venus Williams (U.S.) 7-6 3-6 6-4
2002 Jennifer Capriati (U.S.) beat Martina Hingis (Switzerland) 4-6 7-6 6-2
2001 Jennifer Capriati (U.S.) beat Martina Hingis (Switzerland) 6-4 6-3
2000 Lindsay Davenport (U.S.) beat Martina Hingis (Switzerland) 6-1 7-5

The women’s semi-final line-up in the 2010 Australian Open is a slightly unusual one. It is no surprise to see world number one and four-time winner Serena Williams in the last four, but it is unusual for the other semi finalists to be made up of a wild card, a non-seed and the 16th seed.

The tennis odds suggest Williams should have little trouble in securing a fifth Australian Open title, but Justine Henin, Zheng Jie and Li Na have other ideas. In this tournament of surprises, a shock winner should not be ruled out.

In truth a comeback victory for Henin should not come as too much of a surprise. A seven-time Grand Slam winner, she proved herself in good enough form in reaching the recent Brisbane International final and once she battled past fifth seed Elena Dementieva in the second round, a run to the latter stages seemed inevitable.

The Belgian has won three of her last four meetings with Serena, so a final showdown between the two best players of the last decade will hold no fears for a player aiming to emulate the stunning comeback success achieved by compatriot Kim Clijsters at the US Open.

Here’s the prize money breakdown for the Australian Open 2010. Singles winners will each get A$2.1 million each plus 2,000 ranking points that will boost their place in the world rankings:

(In Australian dollars currency)

Australian Open Men’s and Women’s Singles Prize Money

1st Round:              $19,500
2nd Round:            $31,500
3rd Round:             $52,000
4th Round:             $89,000
Quarter finalists:  $200,000
Semi finalists:        $400,000
Runners-up:           $1,050,000
Winners:                  $2,100,000

The “Hit for Haiti” fundraising event, organized by world number one Roger Federer before the Australian Open, was a huge successful after it raised more than $185,000. The amount is expected to increase as several tennis stars have committed separate contributions.

The proceeds will go to the earthquake victims in Haiti.

Eight players participated in the event. The Red Team was composed of Federer, Serena Williams, Lleyton Hewitt and Samantha Stosur. The Blue Team was composed of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Roddick and Kim Clijsters.

The players took part in mixed doubles matches and to add more entertainment, each wore microphones on the court to provide commentary.

Jokes and immitations such as Roddick mocking Williams’ headline-grabbing meltdown at the US Open last year cracked up the audience.

World number one Roger Federer has invited a number of tennis stars to take part in exhibition doubles matches on Sunday at the Melbourne Park, the day before the Australian Open, with the aim of raising funds for the victims of the deadly earthquake that took place in Haiti on Tuesday this week.

The players invited to take part in this initiative include Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams.

“I had the idea that we could do something,” Federer said.

“It’s before the first Grand Slam, so it’s for some not so easy to mentally separate, but it’s a great initiative,” he added.

The 7.0 magnitude earthquake affected millions of residents with more than 50,000 deaths reported.

Major sporting leagues such as the NBA, NFL and MLB have already pledged financial assistance.

Federer said that the players he invited have agreed to participate. He said that doubles or mixed doubles matches will take place at the Rod Laver stadium.

There are three nations with at least two players in the top 16 of the WTA rankings. Most tennis fans will be aware that Russia and the US are well represented, but the fact that Belgium, with Kim Clijsters and Yanina Wickmayer, has two players in this list is probably not as well known.

Soon there could be three Belgians in the top 16. Justine Henin has returned to the tour with a bang, competing in the Brisbane International where she lost a thrilling final to compatriot comeback queen Clijsters.

Around the same time Wickmayer was winning the ASB Classic in Auckland, so it is probably wise not to deliver the old line ‘name a famous Belgian’ near a tennis fan at the moment. Suffice to say that in the coming season these players will keep cropping up in the latter stages of tournaments.

In Brisbane Henin proved that she, like Clijsters, still has the ability to compete at the big events. The fact that two fully retired players can return and quickly rise to the top of the rankings might not say much about the strength of the women’s game, but fans should ignore this and enjoy the rivalries that will ensue this year. The increased competition should also make tennis betting more interesting.

Electronics giant Panasonic has reportedly signed a lucrative three-year major sponsorship deal with Tennis Australia. The agreement also covers the Australian Open Series events such as the Brisbane International and the Medibank International Sydney.

Panasonic Australia will be the official television, camera and air conditioning sponsor of Tennis Australia and the Australian Open beginning this year.

“We are excited to have Panasonic committing to what will be an enduring and successful relationship,” Tennis Australia’s CEO Steve Wood said in a statement.

World number three Novak Djokovic has reportedly signed a lucrative 10-year sponsorship deal with Italian sports apparel company Sergio Tacchini. The terms of the deal, which begins next season, were not disclosed.

Djokovic said in a statement that his idols John McEnroe and Pete Sampras have also worn Sergio Tacchini clothes aside from winning multiple titles in their tennis careers.

This deal was announced prior to the start of the ATP World Tour Finals which was staged successfully in London last week. Djokovic, the tournament’s defending champion, failed to make it to the semifinals this year.

Check out this very useful and timely article for sports fans out there. Ms. Mary Ward provided a detailed list of sites you can go to.

Ms. Ward writes about how to get a sports management degree online.

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Web forums are great resources for learning about any subject, as well as for discussing subjects that interest you. You’ll find that there are forums for every subject somewhere on the web. Some of the most active, however, are forums about sports. Sports fans everywhere use these forums to discuss, rant and share information about their favorite sports and their favorite teams.

Forums are also great places to get answers to questions about sports or teams when you’ve missed a game or need some additional information.

Check out these ten web forums about sports.

1. Sports Forums – An all inclusive site with a different discussion board for each sport. Whether you like football, hockey, baseball, basketball or college sports, you’ll find a lively discussion here.

2. EvoWeb – This British forum site has discussions about lots of different subjects. Two of their most popular include their forum about football, which includes both American football and soccer, and the one labeled “other sports”. The other sports forum is for; you guessed it, discussing any sport that isn’t football or soccer.

Former world number one Andre Agassi admitted that he used crystal meth 12 years ago in his upcoming autobiography. He revealed that when he failed the drug test that time, he lied to the tennis authorities saying that he just “accidentally” drank from a soda spiked with the drug prepared by his assistant named “Slim.”

“Then I come to the central lie of the letter. I say that recently I drank accidentally from one of Slim’s spiked sodas, unwittingly ingesting his drugs. I ask for understanding and leniency and hastily sign it: Sincerely,” Agassi wrote.

“I feel ashamed, of course. I promise myself that this lie is the end of it. The ATP reviewed the case—and threw it out,” he added.