Australian Open 2014: Rafael Nadal Storms Into Semi Finals After Four-Set Thriller

Rafael Nadal is through to the semi-finals of the 2014 Australian Open after beating Grigor Dimitrov in the last eight of the Men's Singles competition.

The world number one emerged victorious 3-6, 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (9-7), 6-2, against the Bulgarian in an engrossing contest extending over three-and-a-half hours.

The 22-year-old started the game on a high and put the 2013 US Open winner under pressure, eventually dominating the first set 6-3 and causing the Spaniard to drop his first set in this year's competition. Dimitrov managed a staggering eight aces throughout the set as opposed to just two from his opponent.

However, Nadal was not put down by this setback and he fought back to win the second set 7-6 (7-3), which lasted 66 minutes with the tiebreaker.

The third set delivered another exhilarating outcome for the fans to relish as both men were just not ready to allow the other to gain the upperhand. But the 27-year-old outwitted the 22nd seed once again after a to-and-fro battle (9-7) in the tiebreaker to win the set 7-6 in one hour 13 minutes.

The fourth and final set of the match took just over 45 minutes to finish the match as the finalist in the 2012 version of this tournament made it look like a routine victory, securing a 6-2 win.

Nadal lost three match points after gaining advantage during the final game while at 5-2, but eventually managed to nail his place in the last four after smashing a return beyond Dimitrov's reach.

The Spaniard is now braced for facing the winner of the match between Roger Federer and Andy Murray.

Tomas Berdych will face Stanislas Wawrinka in the other semi-final.