Novak Djokovic reached his fifth Australian Open final with a five-set win over defending champion Stan Wawrinka that fell flat compared with their previous encounters at Melbourne Park.

The top-ranked Djokovic finished over the top of Wawrinka in a seesawing 7-6 (1), 3-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 win on Friday night to set up a final against long-time friend and rival Andy Murray, a player he has beaten twice in the championship match in Australia.

Striker and captain Ahmed Khalil scored goals on either side of halftime and tournament scoring leader Ali Mabkhout converted a second-half penalty as the United Arab Emirates clinched third place in the Asian Cup with a 3-2 win over a 10-man Iraq.

Golden boot candidate Mabkhout scored the winner from the penalty spot in the 57th minute after he had been brought down from behind by Ahmed Ibrahim, a foul which earned the Iraqi defender a red card.

Tim Cahill is thriving on the challenge of delivering the Asian Cup title to Australia for the first time.

The Australians host 2002 World Cup semifinalist South Korea in the final at Sydney's Olympic Stadium on Saturday night, determined to go one better than a runner-up finish to Japan four years ago.

Memphis cruised to its fifth straight win and opened a small gap at the top of the NBA's Southwest Division with a dominant 99-69 win over Denver on Thursday.

The Grizzlies moved two games clear of Houston, which beat Dallas on Wednesday.

Serena Williams cut short a practice on the eve of the Australian Open final against Maria Sharapova due to a cold she's been battling for the past week.

The No. 1-ranked American was shown in footage on Australia's Channel 7 network coughing into a towel and blowing her nose before she abandoned the practice session on Friday.

Russia deputy sports minister Yuri Nagornykh says his country's economic crisis is forcing athletes to scale back their training plans for next year's Olympics in Brazil.

Training camps abroad can be crucial in acclimatizing athletes for Rio de Janeiro's tropical conditions, but they are rapidly becoming unaffordable after the ruble lost almost half of its value against the U.S. dollar in the last 12 months.

Guinea qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals on Thursday after a drawing of lots was required to separate them and Mali.

They will go through to a quarter-final on Sunday in Malabo against Group C winners Ghana while Mali go home.

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers will decide on Friday whether striker Daniel Sturridge is ready to make his comeback after a five-month injury lay-off.

Sturridge has not played since injuring his thigh on international duty with England in early September, having sustained a calf problem and a further thigh injury during the rehabilitation process.

Britain's Andy Murray stormed into his fourth Australian Open final with a commanding four-sets win over Czech Tomas Berdych on Thursday.

The dual Grand Slam champion, seeded six, beat the seventh seed 6-7 (6/8), 6-0, 6-3, 7-5 and will play either Novak Djokovic or defending champion Stan Wawrinka in Sunday's decider.

Neymar scored twice to lead Barcelona past nine-man Atletico Madrid and into the Copa del Rey semifinals with a 3-2 victory in a game that went from pulsating to unseemly at Vicente Calderon Stadium on Wednesday.

Barcelona advanced 4-2 on aggregate to set up a meeting with Villarreal or Getafe after an incident-filled match that saw three beautiful goals, questionable refereeing decisions, an own goal and a sending off at halftime. Not to mention Atletico's Arda Turan losing his temper and tossing his shoe at a linesman.