Melbourne: It took almost five hours but in the end, Rafael Nadal did honour his end of the deal to face Roger Federer in a dream final after beating Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 5-7, 7-6, 6-7, 6-4 in the second semifinal of the Australian Open.
Ninth seed Nadal is into his first major final since 2014 overcoming one of the tournament favourites Milos Raonic in the quarter-finals after beating Gaël Monfils in the fourth round, before his win over over Dimitrov.
It was a gruelling encounter as Nadal was pegged back twice by Dimitrov, the Bulgarian’s serve holding him in good stead. But the 30-year-old Spaniard fought back, winning the fifth and final set to eventually dispose of the No. 15 seed in what was only the latter’s second ever Grand Slam semifinal.
Nadal and Federer will meet in a Grand Slam final for the first time since the 2011 French Open final - which Nadal won – but the pair will now be reunited as all eyes will be on the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne on Sunday.
