Melbourne: Young Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis capped an extraordinary Australian Open by reaching his first Grand Slam final with an stirring five-set fightback victory over Argentina's David Nalbandian on Thursday.
The 54th-rated Baghdatis added fourth seeded Nalbandian to his list of three top-10 victims at the year's first slam with a 3-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 win in 3hour 27minutes to reach Sunday's final.
Baghdatis, who has yet to lose in six career five-set matches, will now face either world No 1 Roger Federer or German 21st seed Nicolas Kiefer in the final.
The 20-year-old, an Australian Open junior champion three years ago, became only the fourth unseeded player in 25 years to play in the Australian Open final.
"It's amazing, I have to wake up, I think, it's just unbelievable," he said after his euphoric victory.
"In the first two sets I was really stressed out. I didn't know what to do. He was playing really good. He was playing really aggressive."
"Then I just had no choice and I just had to go on the court and play my game. Now I feel a bit tired but I work hard and I think that I will be ready for Sunday," he added.
Baghdatis said he was nervous as he served out in the final set under incredible pressure and even had to contend with the disruption of a rain break just three points from victory.
"I went in the changing room and I saw my coach. I told him, 'What do I do?' I just didn't know what to do," Baghdatis said.
"He told me, 'I'm not scared for you, I'm scared for him.' It pumped me up. It was good coaching, so was great."
His composure was fully tested again when he was overruled by chair umpire Andreas Egli on match point forcing him to win on his second match point with an ace.
His victory on Thursday over Nalbandian improved his record against top-10 players to 5-3, with all three losses coming against Federer.
The Cypriot has been a breath of fresh air in the men's tournament with his victories over seeds Radek Stepanek (17), Andy Roddick (2) and Ivan Ljubicic (7) and his current 54 ranking will jump inside the top 30 after the tournament.
His infectious grin and passion on court has won fans throughout Australia and made him a hero in Cyprus, which is calling him its greatest sportsman ever.
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