So there you have it - Federer is into his 28th Grand Slam final, and he has a chance to take his overall tally to 18. But, and this is a big 'but', he could face Nadal in the finals - and that usually means doom and gloom for him. Still, this has been an absolutely tremendous performance from him in the first tournament of his comeback, and reinforces why many people consider him to be the greatest player of all time.
That elicits mirth from an elated, Federer-supporting crowd in Rod Laver Arena. And now Federer's talking about Nadal, whom he's likely to see in the finals this weekend.
Cheeky on-court interview from Federer there. Jim Courier asks him what exactly the injury is, for which he had taken an MTO. "If you go off court, it means the injury is further up the leg."
Federer has defeated Wawrinka 7-5, 6-3, 1-6, 4-6, 6-3 to advance to his 28th Grand Slam final, and 6th Australian Open final. What a performance, what a player!!!
Federer holds to 15 in that game and ends with a smash everyone anticipated the moment Wawrinka returned. It echoes through the court, and Federer fans are buoyed and cheering!
Mirka, meanwhile, continues to look very animated. She's either been praying fervently, or jumping up and down while clenching her fist. There's something about facing Wawrinka that brings out this version of Mirka (remember the 'crybaby' episode?).
At the worst possible time, Wawrinka pulls out his second DF of the match to give Federer the early break. That'll be a big morale booster for Federer here, that crucial break of serve.
Let's just cycle back quickly at the errors Federer's committed here. They've been crucial in letting him down a fair bit today and Stan Wawrinka's thrown everything and the kitchen sink at Federer.
Federer still leads Wawrinka in the winners column, but the gap is closing. It's 45 winners for Federer now, and 43 for Wawrinka. (The errors column reads 49 for Federer and 30 for Wawrinka).