Australian Open 2017 Schedule: Friday Replay TV Coverage, Live-Stream Guide

Rafael Nadal battled through to his 21st Grand Slam final as he beat Grigor Dimitrov 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (4), 6-4 in a bruising last-four clash at the 2017 Australian Open on Friday. 

The Spanish 14-time Grand Slam champion looked comfortable early on in Melbourne as he took the first set, but he was forced to dig in and bounce back after Dimitrov upped his game to level the contest in the second.

In a match lasting just short of five hours, both players produced some phenomenal tennis.

Nadal will now face Roger Federer in Sunday's final in a contest reminiscent of the late 2000s when he and the Swiss legend were the dominant forces in tennis.

Here's how you can watch a replay of Friday's breathless action: 

Watch: Eurosport 1 (UK) and ESPN (U.S.) 

Live Stream: Eurosport Player (UK), Sky Go (UK), WatchESPN (U.S.)

Friday Replay Coverage: Eurosport 1 from 1:30 p.m. (GMT), Tennis Channel from 6 p.m. (ET)

Full Schedule: AusOpen.com

Nadal Reaches First Grand Slam Final Since 2014

Bulgarian Dimitrov was not at his best in the opening set and dropped the crucial break in the fourth game which saw Nadal open up a 1-0 lead.

But he rallied impressively in a topsy-turvy second set, getting over the disappointment of twice losing a break advantage and missing four set points at 5-4 ahead to eventually break again for a 7-5 triumph.

Per the New York Times' Ben Rothenberg, Dimitrov displayed immense steel in the second set:

The momentum then swung back to Nadal early in the third set as he broke for a 3-2 lead. But Dimitrov broke straight back to level, and there was little to choose between Nadal and the world No. 15.

A tiebreak was the inevitable conclusion of a monster third set in which neither player gave an inch.

The breaker saw similar back and forths between the players and some impressive shot-making on both sides of the net, but eventually the more experienced Nadal prevailed 7-5.

Against an opponent five years his junior, the 30-year-old Nadal showed that he remains arguably the fiercest competitor in the game as he edged ahead once more, per tennis commentator David Law:

Dimitrov's resolve remained, though, and he made Nadal work for every point as they exchanged holds.

At 5-4 and 6-5 down the world No. 15 would surely have felt the nerves as he served to stay in the match, but he held in double-quick time on both occasions, forcing the tiebreak with a brilliant forehand cross-court winner in the 12th game of the set.

And, when Dimitrov took a 6-3 lead in the breaker, he conceded the first set point before thundering down an unreturnable serve to force the match into a fifth set.

Incredibly, despite the match entering its fifth hour, the quality did not drop, per Sports Illustrated's Jon Wertheim:

Both carved out excellent chances to break and earn the advantage early in the fifth, but still neither could edge ahead.

At 4-3 down, Nadal was forced to save two break points to prevent Dimitrov serving for the set, and after a hold, it was the Spaniard who finally got his nose in front.

A brilliantly played break point from Nadal saw him move 5-4 ahead and a game away from the final, and he served out despite Dimitrov's battling efforts to win a remarkable encounter.