Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal celebrates after beating Grigor Dimitrov in the quarterfinals of the 2014 Australian Open. [Reuters]

World No 1 Rafael Nadal will take on Roger Federer in the 2014 Australian Open Men's Singles semi final clash, which will be held at Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena on Friday.

Where to Watch Live

The play starts at 8:30am GMT. Live coverage is on British Eurosport in the UK. Regular updates and live scores are also available on the Australian Open official website.

Overview

The Spaniard come into this game after defeating Grigor Dimitrov in the quarterfinals in a four-set thriller as Nadal won 3-6, 7-6,7-6,6-2. The World No 1 lost the first set and the Bulgarian was looking for an upset and continued his fine form into the second set.

The second set was decided on the tie break and lasted for 66 minutes, which went in Nadal's favour. The Spaniard bounced back to level the match at 1-1 after the end of the second set. The same feat was repeated in the third set, which was decided in the tie breaker which also went in Nadal's favour. He won the final set comfortably.

federer celebrate
Roger Federer [Reuters] Reuters

Meanwhile, the former World No 1 enters the semi-final fixture after registering a victory over Andy Murray. Federer dominated the game and the game was decided in the fourth set. The Swiss star won 6-3, 6-4 7-6, 6-3. The result saw Murray knocked out of the first grand slam event of the year.

A victory for either Nadal or Federer on Friday will see them take on Stanislas Wawrinka in the Australian Open Men's Singles final during the weekend at the Rod Laver Arena, after he registered a victory in the first semi-final clash over Tomas Berdych.

What They Say

Rafael Nadal: "With the forehand, it's not a big issue. With the serve, a little bit. I feel that with the tape I can lose the racquet when I'm serving. That's my feeling - the racquet can go. That's a terrible feeling for a serve, because then when you have this feeling you are not able to accelerate at the right moment. You lose a little bit the coordination. That's a big deal."

Roger Federer: "I'm looking forward to speaking to Stefan. When he came to Dubai [last month] and we spoke about the game, we spoke about playing Rafa as well. He thought he had some good ideas, so I'm looking forward to what he has to say. Severin [Luthi, coach] knows him inside out. I'm looking forward to hearing what the boys have to say."

Head-to-Head

Nadal has a comfortable lead over Federer as the Spaniard has a 22-10 advantage in the overall meetings. The pair have met in 10 grand slam fixtures and the World No 1 has won it in eight occasions. Nadal holds a 4-1 lead over Federer in the last five meetings between the pair.

Australian Open

Nadal has faced Federer twice in the Australian Open and the World No 1 has won on both occasions.

Rafael Nadal Roger Federer