Marat Safin gave himself the perfect birthday present by scoring a stunning upset over world number one Roger Federer to reach the Australian Open final in Melbourne on Thursday.
Swiss ace Federer, the overwhelming tournament favourite, saw his hopes of a third consecutive grand-slam title dashed.
Safin, celebrating his 25th birthday, will now play either second seed Andy Roddick or Australian hope Lleyton Hewitt in Sunday’s final after securing a thrilling victory in four hours and 28 minutes on the Rod Laver Arena.
It was a dream performance from Safin, who had been trounced in straight sets by Federer in last year’s final. Safin was also a losing finalist at Melbourne Park in 2002.
The Russian saved a match point in the fourth-set tie-break and then put his fans through the shredder when he squandered six match points amid unbearable tension in a marathon fifth set.
But Safin finally clinched a sensational win on his seventh match point, when an exhausted Federer stumbled out wide, leaving the Russian to send an easy forehand into an open court to win.
The Russian’s victory ended Federer’s 26-match winning streak, a run stretching back to his defeat in last August’s Athens Olympics.
The roller-coaster men’s semifinal mirrored action in the women’s draw earlier on Thursday, where former world number one Serena Williams and top seed Lindsay Davenport both came back from the brink of defeat.
Williams pulled off an extraordinary escape to defeat fourth-seeded Russian teenager Maria Sharapova, saving three match points to win 2-6, 7-5, 8-6 in two hours and 39 minutes.
Top seed Davenport, meanwhile, was made to work just as hard before she finally overcame French 19th seed Nathalie Dechy 2-6, 7-6 (7/5) 6-4 in a nerve-jangling encounter on the Rod Laver Arena.
In the end, the experience of Williams and Davenport, who have nine grand-slam titles between them, was to prove crucial. — Sapa-AFP