Australian Open: Rafael Nadal beats Matteo Berrettini to reach Melbourne final

Rafael Nadal, who won his only Australian Open title in 2009, is into his sixth Melbourne final

Rafael Nadal moved one win away from a record 21st Grand Slam men's title after a dominant start enabled him to beat Italy's Matteo Berrettini in the Australian Open semi-finals.

The 35-year-old Spaniard is level on 20 major titles with long-time rivals Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.

Nadal will face Daniil Medvedev or Stefanos Tsitsipas in Sunday's final.

"The first two sets were some of the best I've played for a long time," said Nadal, who won his only Melbourne title in 2009.

"I had to suffer and I had to fight but to be in the final again means a lot."

Nadal's achievement in reaching a 29th Grand Slam final comes only a few months after he thought a foot injury could end his illustrious career.

Russian second seed Medvedev plays Greek fourth seed Tsitsipas later on Friday in the second men's semi-final at Melbourne Park.

It is the first time both men's semi-finals have been played on the same day since 1999, after the decision by tournament organisers to put both women's semi-finals in the primetime Thursday night session.

US Open champion Medvedev, 25, was beaten in last year's final by Djokovic, who did not play this year after being deported from Australia in a visa row related to him being unvaccinated.

Tsitsipas, 23, is targeting his maiden Grand Slam title - after losing to Djokovic in last year's French Open final - and his first Melbourne final.

More to follow.

• Live scores, results and order of play
• Alerts: Get tennis news sent to your phone

• Watch the trailer for Chloe: A new psychological thriller uncovering the dark side of our obsession with social media
• Fuel your workouts: Recipes to help you stick to your meal plan!