Rafael Nadal reached his fourth consecutive grand slam final after overcoming an early Roger Federer onslaught to again beat his old foe at the Australian Open.

Federer came out firing but Nadal gradually wore him down to clinch a 6-7 (5/7) 6-2 7-6 (7/5) 6-4 win in three hours and 42 minutes and secure his place in Sunday night's title decider against Novak Djokovic or Andy Murray.

Federer versus Nadal remains one of sport's great rivalries and this was another classic - both players slugging it out until Nadal broke crucially for a 5-4 fourth-set lead before serving it out.

In the first three games, Federer was simply brilliant. A routine hold was followed by a break, set up by two thundering backhands. And when he opened the third game with a stop volley and a drop shot it was a sign the confidence was flowing.

Nadal was simply trying to stay with him and he did well to stem the tide with two holds. The world number two was then gifted a way back into the set when Federer unexpectedly shanked three routine groundstrokes to relinquish his serve - but the Swiss claimed the set by edging a tie-break.

The pair traded breaks at the start of the second before Nadal upped the tempo by racing to 0-40 at 3-2 and, although Federer applied the pressure by getting it back to 30-40, a sublime cross-court winner from Nadal, played from five yards wide of the tramline, restored his advantage.

The 10-time grand slam winner held for 5-2 before the match was suspended for 10 minutes for a nearby firework display to celebrate Australia Day, and when they returned Federer's game deserted him. Nadal broke again to take the set and then held his own serve to love.

Federer held serve and regained some momentum by breaking, only to toss the advantage away again as Nadal hit back for 4-4. The third set was decided by another breaker, and it was the Spaniard who stepped up to move within one set of victory.

If the first three sets were good, the level moved up a notch in the fourth with both players flat out.

Nadal grabbed a crucial break in the ninth game but Federer refused to give in and engineered a break-point opportunity, only to slice his smash wide. He set up another break point but could only net a backhand, and it was to prove his last chance as Nadal served it out.