Rafael Nadal handed rising star Stefanos Tsitsipas a tennis lesson on Thursday as he drubbed him 6-2, 6-4, 6-0 in the Australian Open semi-final.
Greek 14th seed Tsitsipas had enjoyed a fairytale run to his first Grand Slam last four, including a win over Roger Federer, but found Nadal in ruthless form as he won in 1hr 46min.
The Spanish second seed has not dropped his serve for an astonishing 63 straight games and has not lost a set on his way to the final, where he will face either Novak Djokovic or Lucas Pouille.
"It's been a great match, a great tournament," Nadal said after a breathtaking display of almost perfect tennis.
"I think I have played very well every day. After a lot of months without playing probably this court, this crowd gives me that unbelievable energy."
The 20-year-old Tsitsipas had been hailed as a new Greek god of tennis after beating Federer, but his ascent to the summit of his personal Olympus was comprehensively halted by the colossus called Nadal.
Nadal's win put him into his fifth Australian Open final and keeps him on course to become the first man to win all four Grand Slams twice in the Open era if he can add to his sole Melbourne Park crown in 2009.
Tsitsipas, in just his second Australian Open and seventh appearance at a Grand Slam, was looking to become the first Greek player — man or woman — to reach a final in a major.
"He has everything to become a multi-Grand Slam champion," Nadal said of the young Greek, who enjoyed a breakthrough 2018, winning the ATP Tour NextGen Finals.
Nadal, who shattered the dreams of two other NextGen stars 19-year-old Alex de Minaur and 21-year-old Frances Tiafoe by jumping all over their serves early, made another immediate statement.
In the women’s semifinal, Japanese star Naomi Osaka stormed into the final to set up a battle with Czech comeback queen Petra Kvitova for the Melbourne Park crown and world number one ranking.
The 21-year-old outgunned seventh seed Karolina Pliskova 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 to reach her second successive Grand Slam decider after a breakthrough triumph over Serena Williams at last year's US Open.
The winner of the final will become the new world number one, replacing Romania's Simona Halep.
Two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova, 28 defeated Collins, who had a dream tournament debut to reach the final four, 7-6 (7/2), 6-0.