Rafael Nadal battles past Tomas Berdych to set up Roger Federer semi-final

Nadal came one point away from losing the second set (GETTY IMAGES)

Rafael Nadal will meet Roger Federer in the Australian Open semi-finals after coming back to beat seventh seed Tomas Berdych 6-7 (5), 7-6 (6), 6-4, 6-3.

No. 2-ranked Nadal and No. 3-ranked Federer are on the same half of the draw at a major for the first time since 2005, meaning only one can advance to Sunday's final. Federer beat US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro earlier in three sets to advance to the Australian Open semis for the ninth consecutive year. He has won four of his 16 Grand Slam titles at Melbourne Park.

Nadal won the Australian title in 2009, but lost in the quarter-finals in 2010 and '11.

It was Nadal's 10th consecutive win over Berdych, a sequence including the 2010 Wimbledon final.

AP