Australian Open - Garbine Muguruza sets up showdown of the underdogs with Sofia Kenin

Kenin broke Australian hearts with a 7-6 (6) 7-5 victory over world No 1 Ashleigh Barty, ending hopes of a first home singles winner since 1978.

Muguruza then won the battle of the two-time grand slam champions 7-6 (8) 7-5 against fourth seed Simona Halep.

Muguruza is unseeded here having dropped well away from the heights that saw her beat Serena Williams to win the French Open in 2016 and Wimbledon a year later.

But the Spaniard’s talents have never been in doubt and, back under the guidance of Conchita Martinez – who coached her to the Wimbledon title in a short-term arrangement – Muguruza has been rejuvenated.

She gave an understated fist pump at the end, and said: “Definitely the mission is to get away from here with a big trophy.

“I believe in myself that I have what it takes to play these kind of matches and to be in this stage. You try to just keep it calm. I’m sure in the right moment there’s going to be a big celebration.”

This was a ding-dong battle, with Muguruza failing to serve out the first set but saving four set points, two at 5-6 and two more in the tie-break, before taking her third chance.

Halep, the 2018 finalist here and looking to add to her own French Open and Wimbledon titles, took her frustration out on her racket but broke the Muguruza serve in the second set and had a chance to serve it out at 5-3.

She could not take it, though, with Muguruza’s defence a revelation as she won the final four games.

Halep made no attempt to put on a brave face, saying: “To lose like this hurts more, definitely. I’m in pain now, I have to admit.

“I think maybe I could be a little bit more brave in the points that were important. She served very well in the important moments. I think it was a good match for both of us, but she was stronger in the end.”

The first semi-final followed almost the same pattern. There was no doubt who Rod Laver Arena was rooting for but Barty was unable to take two set points in either set.

Since making the last eight here 12 months ago, the 23-year-old has won the French Open title and risen to the top of the world rankings, pushing expectations sky high.

But she insisted the pressure had not weighed heavily, saying: “Not at all. I’ve been in a grand slam semi-final before. Yes, it’s different at home.

“I enjoyed the experience. I love being out there. I’ve loved every minute of playing in Australia over the last month.”

Roger Federer went into his Australian Open semi-final against Novak Djokovic giving himself a “three per cent” chance of victory and branded the experience “horrible”.

Djokovic will contest a record eighth final at Melbourne Park on Sunday after a 7-6 (1) 6-4 6-3 victory over his old rival.

It was their 50th meeting, with Djokovic now leading 27-23, but this had a very different feel to most of those given there were doubts over whether Federer would even take to the court.

He took another medical timeout after the first set of this match and his movement was clearly affected again, particularly moving out to his forehand.

He finished the match feeling he had squeezed everything he could from the fortnight, saying: “I’ve got to be happy with what I achieved. It was the maximum to get at this tournament.

Djokovic paid tribute to Federer saying: “Obviously he was hurting. You could see it in his movement. Respect to him for trying his best.”