Young Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis has capped an extraordinary Australian Open by reaching his first Grand Slam final with an stirring five-set fightback victory over Argentina's David Nalbandian.

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The 54th-rated Baghdatis added fourth seeded Nalbandian to his list of seeded victims at the year's first slam with a 3-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 win in 3hr 27min to reach Sunday's final.

Baghdatis will now face either world number one Roger Federer or German 21st seed Nicolas Kiefer in the final.

The 20-year-old, a junior champion in Melbourne three years ago, became only the fourth unseeded player in 25 years to play in the Australian Open final.

Yet again Baghdatis belied his young years to serve out for the final under incredible pressure and even had to contend with the disruption of a rain break just three points from victory.

He even then had to regather his composure after an overrule by chair umpire Andreas Egli on match point forcing him to win on his second match point with an ace.

Baghdatis, cheered on by a large group of chanting Greek expats, underlined his rich promise with his second win over Nalbandian after beating him in the semi-finals at Basle last year.

His win 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.

(Source: AFP)