Novak Djokovic beats Stan Wawrinka in five sets to set up Andy Murray showdown

Though not quite the level of their thrilling marathons at the last two tournaments, the grinding 7-6(1) 3-6 6-4 4-6 6-0 win under the lights of Rod Laver Arena was riven by tension until the final one-sided set.

Both players had their chances, with Djokovic fluffing his lines when 2-0 up and closing in on victory in the fourth set.

Wawrinka clawed his way back, breaking the Serb and saving three break points with some brilliant play before roaring on to force a fifth set.

Fourth seed Wawrinka had a chance to break Djokovic in the opening game of the decider, but blasted a backhand long.

From there he promptly crumbled.

With Wawrinka double-faulting twice to gift Djokovic the break, the steely-eyed Serb marched on, setting up match point with a searing backhand down the line and closing it out when his opponent struck his 69th unforced error.

Though having played far from his best tennis, Djokovic will bid to become the first man in the professional era to win five titles at Melbourne Park on Sunday when he faces Murray, who he defeated in the final in 2011 and 2013.

"As it was the case in the last two years we played five sets and I was ready for the battle," Djokovic said in a courtside interview. "We pushed each other to the limit.

"Stan is a quality player. I made my life very complicated on the court."

The Serb world number one's life will not get any easier on Sunday when he faces the Brit who will be looking to win his first Melbourne Park title in his fourth final.

"Andy and I go back to when we were 12 years old, that's when we first played each other," Djokovic added. "We've known each other a long time, it's nice to play another grand slam final against him."