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Cape Town - Roger Federer admits that Rafa Nadal has given him the "most problems" out of any opponent over his career but would love to face him in the Australian Open final.
The Swiss defeated his compatriot Stan Wawrinka in the semi-final on Thursday with a 7-5, 6-3, 1-6, 4-6, 6-3 win in a five-set thriller.
17-time Grand Slam winner, Federer, will find out on Friday who will play in the final out of either Nadal or Grigor Dimitrov.
"It's real, I can really actually talk about a final, I've been dodging that bullet for the last few days," Federer said.
"Rafa's given me the most problems in the game ... I'm probably Rafa's number one fan, I think his game is just tremendous. He's an incredible competitor.
"I'm happy that we've had some epic battles over the years and of course it would be unreal to play him here."
Despite his clear preference, Federer claims it will be equally as "tough" in the final if he plays Dimitrov instead of Nadal.
"(Dimitrov)'s got a very complete game. He can mix it up really well. He's very confident and you never want to play confident players, but it's him or Rafa," said Federer.
"It's going to be tough either way."
