Nadal thwarts Federer to reach final in Melbourne

World number two Rafael Nadal booked a place in the Australian Open final for the second time on Thursday, defeating Roger Federer in a four-set victory laced with the kind of seductive tennis that has made the rivalry between the two one of the greatest in the history of the sport.

Federer, a study in effortless grace, and Nadal, a snarling clubber often seemingly held together by surgical tape, could not be more removed in their on-court personas. Federer is one of the few modern players comfortable at the net, while Nadal prefers to slug it out from the baseline. A packed Rod Laver arena was treated to a display of both techniques in a match that could have been confused with an exhibition were the stakes not so high.

Federer raced to a 3-0 lead in the first before Nadal found his scrapping shoes, the Spaniard breaking back in the seventh game as the set moved inexorably toward a tiebreak. The Swiss prevailed with a deft drop-volley to claim the opener but Nadal roared back in the second, breaking Federer in the fifth game. The fireworks on court were usurped by those in the Melbourne night as part of Australia Day celebrations, leading to a 10-minute pause with Nadal leading 5-2. The Spaniard broke to love to wrap up the second before the players swapped breaks in the third to set up another tiebreak.

Federer, whose unforced error count had skyrocketed after the pyrotechnic pageant, found himself staring at five set points, which he resolutely saved before Nadal unleashed a blistering forehand to go 2-1 up.

Federer had a chance to serve for the fourth set but sent a forehand narrowly wide on a break point opportunity when leading 4-3. The Spaniard punished his opponent by breaking immediately to bring up 5-4 and then served out the encounter on his second match point.

It was the 27th meeting between the pugilists, with Nadal extending his record to 18-9, and more pertinently 8-2 in Grand Slam competition. Through to a fourth consecutive major final, Nadal will play either Andy Murray or top seed Novak Djokovic for a second Melbourne crown. Djokovic, the defending champion, relieved Nadal of his Wimbledon and US Open titles last year while Murray, twice a finalist in Australia, has yet to win a slam.