Andre Agassi blows a kiss to the crowd after being inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport (Reuters)

Andre Agassi is adored in his native Las Vegas and, granted, winning eight Grand Slams and 60 men's singles titles might have a bit to do with that.

Everybody loves a winner, after all.

Las Vegans, though, adore Agassi for far more than his ability to run down a shot or return a serve. He's become an icon in the community with his philanthropic efforts, particularly his work to improve the quality of the American education system.

If there is a worthy charity out there, chances are pretty good that Agassi has helped raise money for it. He said that he has raised around $175 million to aid

Andy Murray is one of the big favourites to win the sporting version of X-Factor, otherwise known as BBC Sports Personality of the Year award, but don't expect to see him at the ceremony.

The Scot has enjoyed his best ever season - winning his first Grand Slam title at the US Open as well as a gold and silver at the London 2012 Olympics.

Murray is currently the third favourite for the award with the bookmakers after only Bradley Wiggins and Mo Farah but he has other priorities that come before the event at London's Excel Arena on December 16th.

"That period of the year for me is so, so

Former Bolton Wanderers midfielder Fabrice Muamba laughs as he watches Andy Murray take on Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the ATP World Tour finals in London (AFP)

US Open champion Andy Murray met former Bolton Wanderers player Fabrice Muamba after qualifying for the last four of the ATP World Tour Finals.

Muamba suffered a cardiac arrest playing against Tottenham Hotspur in an FA Cup tie in March and needed life-saving treatment after his heart stopped beating for 78 minutes.

Murray posed for photographs with Muamba, 24, after beating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-2 7-6 at the 02 arena.

"I remember exactly where I was when it happened," Murray told reporters of the incident that shocked British football.

"I was watching the match on the TV in the States. Yeah,

Andy Murray reacts after losing a point to Novak Djokovic at the ATP World Tour Finals in the O2 Arena (AFP)

Andy Murray's latest epic clash against Novak Djokovic may have been a great spectacle, but the Briton needs to show more composure as a worrying run of losses creeps in after his great triumphs.

Murray was destined to be another British also-ran until his defeat to Roger Federer at Wimbledon showed he could mix it with the greatest all-time players in the biggest matches.

He bettered that in some style, gaining revenge over Federer at the All England Club for the Olympics, before storming to a thrilling US Open victory against that man Djokovic, in what is destined to become one of the

The WTA Championships in Istanbul is the big tennis event this week and you can watch the event live on Eurosport.

To help set the scene Tramlines has been looking at the facts and figures running up to the event and has picked out some of the more interesting angles to look out for in Turkey.

Azarenka a licence to print money

Victoria Azarenka has already broken the record for the most money won in a single WTA season ($6,953,920) — if she wins in Turkey she will push over the $8m barrier. The previous record was the $6,545,586 won by Serena Williams in 2009.

Tennis the global game.

For the

Front page of the Daily Telegraph sports section

The WTA Osaka event may not get the pulses racing for the average tennis fan but it certainly became a big deal in Britain when Heather Watson battled past Taiwan's Chang Kai-Chen to become the first British woman to win a WTA event in 24 years.

England have a big football match against Poland on Tuesday but the main sports story in many of the British papers on Monday was given over to Watson.

In particular, the quality newspapers went gaga over the Guernsey girl's triumph with huge pictures of Watson's beaming smile adorning the front pages of the sports sections in The Times, The

Murray takes his maiden Grand Slam trophy on a romantic first date in Central Park

It was three weeks ago today that Andy Murray, after four hours and 54 gruelling minutes, ended his seven-year wait for a Grand Slam title in the delayed US Open final.

It had been the raincloud he could not shake off:  no matter who he beat in one-on-one competition, how high he rose in the ATP rankings or whether he was 'British' or 'Scottish'.

Andy Murray was the tennis star who could not win 'The Big One'.

Even an Olympic gold medal and revenge over Wimbledon final conqueror Roger Federer failed to fully lift the stigma. Mo Farah, Jess Ennis and, erm, Peter Wilson, no matter how many

It may not have had the gigantic, overriding, emotional importance of Andy Murray's success in ending 76 years of hurt, but Laura Robson's achievement in becoming the first British woman to reach a WTA singles final in 22 years at the weekend should still resonate amongst tennis fans, marking as it does her continual rise, and that of the women's game in this country.

Not since Jo Durie had reached the final in Newport in 1990 had a tennis player from these shores come within a whisker of lifting a trophy on the women's tour. The wait for an outright title only stretches back a further two