Marat Safin beat Andre Agassi 7-6 7-6 5-7 1-6 6-3 in an epic semi-final at the Australian Open today to end the American's bid for a fifth championship at Melbourne Park.
Safin followed up his five-set win over world number one Andy Roddick two days ago to hand the defending champion Agassi his first loss in 27 matches at the Australian Open dating back to 1999.
The unseeded Russian appeared to have the match under control when he won the first two sets in tiebreakers before Agassi staged a brave comeback.
The 33-year-old claimed the next two sets to force the match into a deciding fifth as Safin began to show signs of fatigue.
But the 24-year-old, a finalist at the Australian Open two years ago, regained his composure to clinch victory and book a place in Sunday's final against either Switzerland's Roger Federer or Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero.