Rafael Nadal maintained his dominance over Roger Federer to set up an Australian Open final against Stanislas Wawrinka. World number one Nadal proved too strong for his great rival, as he had on 22 of the previous 32 occasions they had played, and was a comfortable 7-6 (7/4) 6-3 6-3 winner. Nadal's victory ended hopes of an all-Swiss final, and the Spaniard will be a huge favourite to defeat Wawrinka on Sunday given Federer's countryman has never won a set in any of their 12 matches. Friday's result also ensured Wawrinka will overtake Federer in the rankings on Monday to become Swiss number one for the first time. Nadal will play in his second Australian Open final, having beaten Federer to win the title in 2009. Victory on Sunday would take him level on 14 grand slam titles with Pete Sampras, who will present the trophy and on Friday watched Nadal play Federer live for the first time. Federer's 17 slams is the all-time men's record Nadal could then aim for.
Nadal said of facing Federer: "We've played a lot of times for important things in our career. He's a great champion and it's an honour to be in the same era as him. I think I played my best match of the tournament so I'm very happy for that."
