Novak Djokovic survived a brutal battle of wills with grand slam nearly man Andy Murray on Friday to reach the final of the Australian Tennis Open against fellow fighter Rafa Nadal.
Defending champion Djokovic fought the Briton to a standstill in a 6-3 3-6 6-7 6-1 7-5 victory after almost five hours of heart-stopping, hand-wringing tennis at Rod Laver Arena.
After finally swatting away Murray's semi-final challenge, the world number one crumpled to the court in exhausted relief, barely able to flick off the moths fluttering around his arms.
A shattered Murray exited with his head held high after proving without doubt he belongs in the elite company of Djokovic, Nadal and Roger Federer - beaten by the Spaniard in Thursday's first semi-final.
Meanwhile Victoria Azarenka has cemented her place among the top women's players in the world by reaching the Melbourne Park final, but the world number three is getting fed up with the hubbub surrounding her serial grunting.
The 22-year-old Belarusian will play in her first grand slam final tonight against Russian Maria Sharapova, also one of the loudest players on court.
While Azarenka, who would become world number one with a victory, has worked hard to block out distractions on court she knows there is no way of silencing the shrieks of Sharapova.
