Rafael Nadal will have the chance to become the first man to triumph in a 21st Grand Slam title on Sunday after overcoming Matteo Berrettini rather comfortably in the Australian Open semi-final.
Nadal, who is currently tied on 20 Grand Slam titles alongside Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, saw off his Italian counterpart in four sets - claiming a 6-3 6-2 3-6 6-3 victory.
After just about scraping through in a five-set thriller against Denis Shapovalov at the quarter-final stage, there were some doubts about Nadal's fitness after a bout of illness in that match.
But he answered those critics emphatically under the roof of the Rod Laver Arena - having taken control of the opening two sets before Berrettini fought back briefly.
However, the Spanish great - who risked the wrath of Shapovalov last time out - held his nerve to fend off any fightback from his rival and move to only one match away from notching a record 21st Grand Slam crown.
Nadal will now take on world No 2 and US Open champion Daniil Medvedev or Stefanos Tsitsipas in the showpiece final on Sunday morning UK time.
And speaking after his victory, Nadal - whose only over victory at the Australian Open came in 2009 - revealed his delight with history well and truly in his sights at Melbourne Park.
"I started the match playing great, first two sets have been one of the best since a long time," Nadal said.
"I know how good is Matteo. In the third I knew at some point he's going to go for the shots. I think I didn't play a good game with my serve but he played some great shots.
"Then we need to suffer and we need to fight. That's the only way to be where I am today. It means a lot to me to be in the final again here."
Nadal took control from the off on Rod Laver Arena against a nervous Berrettini, who has only reached one Grand Slam final at Wimbledon in 2021 - where he was defeated by Djokovic.
Nadal took advantage of the seventh seed's weaker backhand early on and he struggled to exert his game plan on the Spaniard.
However, he slowly began to turn the tide, and with his first break point of the match, Berrettini managed to capitalise in the eighth game of the third set before seeing it out 6-3.
Nadal appeared to tire in the fourth following on from his epic battle against Shapovalov in the quarters, but he found some extra energy in reserve to capitalise on Berrettini's nervy serve to break his rival to go 5-3 up and seal the deal.
The 35-year-old will arguably start the Australian Open final as underdog given he will be coming up against a player ranked higher then him in the world and due to his recent injury woes, but his experience on the biggest stage could perhaps give him the edge.
Nadal will be desperate to count on that experience in his hunt for glory, but ahead of the final, he has admitted he is only focusing on winning a long-awaited second Australian Open crown and nothing else right now.
After being asked about the chance of making history, Nadal responded: "For me it's all about the Australian Open more than anything else. It's an amazing event.
"I've been unlucky with a few injuries. I was close a couple of times. I never thought about another chance in 2022."
