Nadal sets up Federer final

Rafael Nadal will meet Roger Federer in Sunday's Australian Open final after his 6-3 5-7 7-6 6-7 6-4 win over Grigor Dimitrov.

Few would have predicted a Nadal-Federer final at the start of the tournament but two greats of the game will meet in a Grand Slam decider for the ninth time after rolling back the years in Melbourne.

After Federer's defeat of Stanislas Wawrinka in the first semi-final, much of the build-up to Friday's match centred on the prospect of a Nadal-Federer final but the Spaniard was made to work hard by Dimitrov, who was bidding to reach the final of Grand Slam for the first time in his career.

Dimitrov tested Nadal as early as the first game but the Spaniard managed to hold serve and having settled into the match he broke for the first time for a 3-1 lead. Try as he might Dimitrov was unable to break back as Nadal took the opening set in 35 minutes.

A change of tactics worked for Dimitrov in the second set, breaking Nadal on his way to opening up a 4-1 lead, only for the Spaniard to break back and get the set back on serve.

Dimitrov squandered four set points on the Nadal serve at 4-5 but he did not make the same mistake on Nadal's service game as he took the second to level the match.

They exchanged service breaks in the third set and a tie-break was required to separate them, but once again momentum swung between them. First Nadal moved a mini-break ahead only for Dimitrov to recover until two unforced errors from Dimitrov allowed Nadal to take the set.

After neither player managed to gain a single break point, a tie-break was needed to settle the fourth set and it was Dimitrov who won prevailed to take the match into a fifth and final set.

Nadal had four opportunities to break in the opening hame but Dimitrov managed to save each one before holding and then it was Nadal's turn to save break point in the very next game.

A pivotal moment came in the eighth game when Dimitrov moved 15-40 ahead but Nadal held brilliantly to make it 4-4 and deny his opponent the opportunity to serve for the match.

In the next game Dimitrov double-faulted to allow Nadal take control and a backhand winner sealed the break for the former champion for a 5-4 lead.

On his own serve, Nadal brought up match point with an ace only for Dimitrov to save it, but just two points later the Spaniard had the advantage and he sank to the floor as his opponent's shot went long.

"First of all, I am tired. Grigor was playing unbelievable. it was a great match. I am very happy to be part of it, the crowd was amazing. Many thanks for the huge support, the last two weeks have been unforgettable for me," Nadal said.

"When you work hard and have tough moments like last year, I never dreamed to be back in the Australian Open after a lot of months without competing."

Looking ahead to his match with Federer, Nadal added: "I hope to recover well and for me it is a privilege. It is a special thing for both of us to be able to compete against each other in a major final.

Roger came to open my academy in Majorca, it was a big moment for my village and I thank him for that. We were supposed to play an exhibition match, but with our injuries we just had a hit with the kids.

"I think we both thought that we wouldn't be back in major finals."

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