Nadal to make it five straight Grand Slam victories over Federer

The semi finals of the Australian Open marks a landmark tenth time that Roger Federer meets Rafael Nadal in a Grand Slam and the Spaniard can be backed to continue his dominance despite being considered the underdog to triumph.

Nadal has long been regarded as Federer’s nemesis, winning 19 of their 28 encounters in total and seven of their nine showdowns in Grand Slams, including all of the last four.

What may be particularly surprising is that this is only their second Grand Slam clash on a hard court, with their Australian Open final of 2009 their only other meeting of this kind on the surface.

It was Nadal who triumphed on this occasion and 6/5 seems amazing value in the Australian Open odds that he succeeds again.

The only logical reason that can be made as to why he is the underdog is because of injury concerns over a knee, but an MRI scan has indicated that there is no damage.

Punters fancying Federer to end his dismal Grand Slam streak against Nadal will be best to take advantage of Ladbrokes offering the best price of 4/6.

Federer has looked the far more assured player of the pair throughout the Australian Open to date and is yet to drop a set in beating the likes of Ivo Karlovic, Bernard Tomic and Juan Martin del Potro.

Other betting options worth considering include the 5/6 that the showdown features in excess of 39.5 games.

Of their nine previous Grand Slam meetings, only one has been over in three sets and there is every reason to believe that another marathon may be on the cards.

However, with five Grand Slam encounters being over in four sets, it may pay to expect four sets again at 6/4.