Melbourne - Fernando Verdasco almost denied Rafael Nadal a first-ever final at the Australian Open, but the top seed survived to win the longest match ever played at Melbourne Park, 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 6-7 (2-7), 6-4 on Friday.

The 14th-seed Verdasco, munching on apples during changeovers instead of the customary bananas, came close to stunning the normally invincible Nadal in a record-breaking marathon match lasting five hours, 14 minutes.

Sydney, Jan 30 : Peter Chingoka, the head of Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC), has been refused entry into Australia because of his links with the regime led by Robert Mugabe and will be absent from a meeting of the International Cricket Council in Perth starting on Saturday.

The ICC will hold a two-day board meeting without Chingoka. It is unclear whether Chingoka applied for a visa to enter Australia, however it is understood that Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) would have refused his application.

Brisbane, Jan. 30 : The Chairman of Australia''s cricket selection committee, Andrew Hilditch, has said that all-rounder Andrew Symonds errant behaviour off the field will play no part at the selection table next Wednesday.

"What happened with Andrew yesterday is now done from our perspective,'''' Hilditch told brisbanetimes. com. au.

"It''s not a selection issue. Whether anything else comes from that, I have no idea. But from our perspective, he''s being considered for selection for South Africa.''''

Melbourne, Jan 30 : Online registrations for the White supremacy group, Klu Klux Klan (KKK), have significantly increased following Barack Obama's presidential win.

Former KKK leader and imperial wizard, Johnny Lee Clary, said that the current global financial crisis and political change in the United States were fuelling klan membership for the first time in decades.

Melbourne, Jan 30 : Ace swimmer Amanda Beard has denied being romantically involved with Ian Thorpe.

According to Daily Telegraph, Beard's agent Evan Morganstein has rubbished the reports that the couple was in a relationship.

"It''s baloney," News. com. au quoted Morganstein as saying.

Rumours of their romance started off during the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

"I was there at the (Athens) Olympics, she is one of my best friends, it never happened," he said.

Melbourne, Jan 30 : A lawsuit involving late actor Heath Ledger''s 10 million dollar life insurance policy has been settled.

ReliaStar Life Insurance initially had refused to pay out on Ledger''s 10 million dollars life policy over pending investigation into whether the actor committed suicide.

But, the lawyer representing the actor's daughter Matilda''s trust, William Shernoff, said that the insurance company has agreed to settle the case.