Roger Federer edged a five-set thriller against his fellow Swiss and close friend Stan Wawrinka at the Australian Open on Thursday to become the oldest Grand Slam finalist in 43 years.
The 17-time Grand Slam champion saw off the world number four 7-5, 6-3, 1-6, 4-6, 6-3 in three hours and five minutes and will face either Rafael Nadal or Grigor Dimitrov in Sunday's final.
It will be 35-year-old Federer's sixth Australian final and 28th Grand Slam decider in total, and caps a marvellous comeback after the second half of last season was ruined by a knee injury.
The four-time Australian Open champion becomes the oldest man to reach a Grand Slam final since Australia's Ken Rosewall (39 years 310 days) at the 1974 US Open.
In an enthralling contest, Federer won the opening two sets before Wawrinka clawed back to take the semi-final into a fifth, only for Federer to prevail with a service break in the sixth game.
Racquet smash
The two Swiss jockeyed in the opening games with Federer having three break points in Wawrinka's second service game and Wawrinka getting two break points, but all were saved.
Wawrinka had another break point saved in the 11th game but he paid for a netted forehand in his next service game to drop the opening set in 50 minutes.
Wawrinka netted a backhand on break point in the sixth game of the second set and angrily smashed his smash in reaction, receiving a code violation warning from the chair umpire.
The match turned quickly for Wawrinka as Federer raced to a two sets lead after holding three set points. Wawrinka left the court for a medical timeout and returned to the court with tape around his right knee.