AUSTRALIAN OPEN SCENE: Sharapova doesn't dream tennis

MELBOURNE, Australia - Andy Murray drew massive applause not just for his tennis, but for an eloquent tribute to female coaches.

As Murray basked in the center-court spotlight after reaching his fourth Australian Open final, he was asked by an on-court presenter what his new coach Amelie Mauresmo has brought to his game.

Murray's decision to hire the former No. 1-ranked Mauresmo in June, after parting ways with Ivan Lendl, sparked criticism from some current and retired players and the British media. Her position was then under scrutiny in Britain after Murray was eliminated from Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in the quarterfinals last year.

''A lot of people criticized me working with her,'' said Murray, winner of the 2012 U.S. Open and 2013 Wimbledon titles. ''And I think so far this week we've showed that women can be very good coaches as well.''

Mauresmo, a two-time Grand Slam winner, smiled at Murray from his player's box and nodded, as Rod Laver Arena erupted with applause.

The No. 6-ranked Murray beat No. 7 Tomas Berdych 6-7 (6), 6-0, 6-3, 7-5 in Thursday's semifinal and is now one win away from an elusive Australian Open trophy.

But Murray noted that his wasn't the only success story.

''Madison Keys, who reached the semis here and had her best tournament, is also coached by a woman, Lindsay Davenport, and I see no reason why that can't keep moving forward like that in the future,'' he said to more huge applause.

''I'm very thankful for Amelie for doing it. It was, I would say, a brave choice from her to do it, and hopefully I can repay her now in a few days.''

Murray faces a final against No. 1 Novak Djokovic or defending champion Stan Wawrinka, who play their semifinal on Friday.

NO TENNIS DREAMS

Maria Sharapova has played at the Australian Open for 12 years, but she apparently still has some trouble with a strong Aussie accent.

After beating Ekaterina Makarova on Thursday to set up a final against Serena Williams, she was asked by an Australian reporter how she deals with nerves the night before a big match.

Sit in a room with music? Go for a walk? Have a bath?

Sounding slightly incredulous, Sharapova responded: ''Sit at a bar?''

''That's a good option. I never tried that option,'' she added with a laugh after the question was cleared up.

For the record, the pre-match usually pans out like this: ''I usually spend some time with my team and we talk about pretty much everything, the match, how we're feeling, things like that.''

And Sharapova usually sleeps just fine.

''I don't dream too much of tennis, thankfully.''

SERENA SELFIE

Not long after her semifinal win over Madison Keys, Serena Williams met veteran American singer Kenny Rogers, who was at Rod Laver Arena for the night semifinal between Andy Murray and Tomas Berdych.

A few tweets followed, including a Serena selfie with the star of such songs as ''Lucille'' and ''The Gambler.''

Rogers, a keen tennis fan, is also close friends with seven-time Grand Slam singles champion Evonne Goolagong Cawley and her husband, Roger Cawley. All three were in the ''Presidents Reserve'' VIP box for the night match.

Williams first tweeted: ''I just met Kenny Rogers. Was maybe too excited and told him I always karaoke his songs. He asked me what one and I said Lucille!''

It was followed by another tweet with the selfie of the two of them, including a note: ''How many of you know Lucille by Kenny Rogers??''