Marcos Baghdatis extended his extraordinary Australian Open odyssey on Thursday when he became the first Cypriot to reach a Grand Slam final with a 3-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 defeat of fourth seed David Nalbandian.

"I'll have to wake up and check if I'm dreaming," the unseeded Baghdatis said in a courtside interview.

"I don't know what to say - it's amazing."

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In the women's singles, a heart-breaking injury to newly-crowned world number one Kim Clijsters [Images] propelled Amelie Mauresmo into only her second Grand Slam final, against Justine Henin-Hardenne.

Henin-Hardenne, eighth seed and champion here in 2004, beat fourth-seeded Russian Maria Sharapova [Images] 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.

Clijsters, plagued by injuries for the last two years, fell and hurt her right foot and was forced to quit with France's [Images] Mauresmo leading 5-7, 6-2, 3-2. Both women's matches were played indoors because of the extreme temperatures.

A former junior world champion now ranked 54th in the world, Baghdatis looked down and out after conceding the first two sets to Nalbandian before scrambling madly throughout the third and fourth sets to push the match into a fifth set.

The Argentine looked to have regained the upper hand when he broke to lead 4-2 before Baghdatis reeled off the next three games and served for the match.

He was just three points away from victory when the heavens suddenly opened and rain forced a 30-minute delay. After the court was cleaned and play resumed, Baghdatis slammed an ace on his second match point to seal his win.

Baghdatis, who has developed a cult following at Melbourne Park, will play the winner of Friday's semi-final between world number one Roger Federer [Images] and Germany's [Images] 21st seed Nicolas Kiefer.

FIRST SLAM

Clijsters has been plagued by injuries since she lost the 2004 Australian Open final to her fellow Belgian Henin-Hardenne but she thought her luck had taken a turn for the better when she won last year's U.S. Open.

However, she hurt her back and hip during a warm-up event in Sydney earlier this month and failed to regain full fitness during the championship.

"I'm not the kind of player who is going to quit for nothing," Clijsters, seeded second, told a news conference.

"I really felt like I was ready from the first ball. I think I played a lot better, too. That's what makes this even more frustrating."

Mauresmo's only previous Grand Slam final was in Melbourne in 1999 when she was easily beaten by Martina Hingis [Images].

"It's very strange," the third seed said in a courtside interview. "We had such a great battle till she twisted the ankle.

"It's a little bit of an unfinished match. I hope she gets better and it's not too bad, but that's the way it is."

WINNING STREAK

French Open champion Henin-Hardenne, who was unable to defend her 2004 Melbourne title last year because of injury, extended her winning streak in Australia to 20 matches against Sharapova.

After splitting the first two sets, the Belgian served for the match in the ninth game of the decider.

She faltered before recovering to break the Russian in the next game and claim the match with a blistering backhand winner down the line.

"I think we played a great match, it was very intense physically," Henin-Hardenne said.

Fourth seed Sharapova, beaten by eventual champion Serena Williams [Images] at the same stage last year, could not match the tenacity of Henin-Hardenne whose renowned backhand slowly began to take its toll.

"It's disappointing right now, but this match gives me a lot of confidence towards the future," Sharapova said.

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