Garbine Muguruza continued her recent revival by reaching the Australian Open final with a straight-set win over Romania's Simona Halep.

The unseeded Spaniard, 26, battled past the fourth seed in a tense 7-6 (10-8) 7-5 semi-final victory.

The two-time Grand Slam champion fought off four set points in the opener and twice came back from a break down in the second.

She will face American Sofia Kenin in Saturday's final.

It is Muguruza's first appearance in a Grand Slam final since she won the Wimbledon title in 2017.

Muguruza clinched victory with her second match point when a six-shot rally ended with Halep hitting a return into the net.

The way the world number 32 gritted her teeth and tightly clenched her fist as she celebrated illustrated how difficult a battle it was against the 2018 runner-up.

"I'm very excited to be in the final - it is a long way to get there," said Muguruza, who also won the French Open in 2016.

"I wasn't thinking I was down, I just thought keep going and knew I'd have an opportunity.

"I was hanging in there and fighting with all the energy I had."

Muguruza will bid to become only the third unseeded woman to win the Australian Open, after home player Chris O'Neil in 1978 and American great Serena Williams in 2007.

Muguruza slipped down to 36th in the world at the end of last year, a little over two years after she was ranked number one.

But she has looked close to her best in Melbourne, having reunited with former coach Conchita Martinez - the 1994 Wimbledon champion - at the start of the season.

Victories over Ukrainian fifth seed Elina Svitolina and Dutch ninth seed Kiki Bertens earlier in the tournament marked her out as a potential champion at Melbourne Park.

And she moved within one win of achieving that with a gutsy victory over Halep.

Muguruza did not allow her opponent to take her chances in the first set - fighting off two set points at 6-5 and two more in the tie-break - to earn a valuable lead.

Then, after losing serve for 2-1 and 3-2 deficits in the second set, Muguruza piled the pressure back on Halep, finally taking two of six break points on her way to winning the final four games.

Former world number one Halep said that the sun and 40C temperatures in Melbourne "killed me".

"The sun was strong, I didn't like that much to play in this weather," the 28-year-old said.

"The level of energy went down a little bit, and I felt it in the legs.

"To lose like this hurts more, definitely. I'm in pain now, I have to admit."

Novak Djokovic moved a step closer to retaining the Australian Open title with a straight-set semi-final win over injury-hit rival Roger Federer.

Serbia's Djokovic was 4-1 and 40-0 down in the opening set before recovering to win the tie-break.

That laid the platform for the 32-year-old second seed to go on and win 7-6 (7-1) 6-4 6-3.

Djokovic, aiming for a 17th Grand Slam title, will face Dominic Thiem or Alexander Zverev in Sunday's final.

"The match could have definitely gone a different way if he had used those break points [in the sixth game]," Djokovic said.

"He started well - I was nervous.

"Respect to Roger for coming out tonight. He was obviously hurt and wasn't close to his best in terms of movement."

Victory would mean a record-extending eighth Australian Open triumph for Djokovic, who has lost just three matches at Melbourne Park in the past 10 tournaments.

It would also move him within three of 38-year-old's Federer's all-time record of 20 men's Grand Slam singles titles and within two of Spain's Rafael Nadal, who lost to Thiem in Wednesday's quarter-final.

Ruthless Djokovic proves too strong

Djokovic was the heavy favourite to beat his long-time rival in what was their 50th meeting.

Questions were raised about Federer's fitness going into the match, having struggled with a groin problem in his epic quarter-final against Tennys Sandgren.

And he needed an off-court medical timeout, presumably for the same problem, at the end of the first set.

Djokovic turned into his ruthless best in the second set after a tight opener, giving away little on his serve and applying serious pressure on his opponent's.

After Federer survived break points in the second and sixth games, Djokovic took his first chance in the 10th, scampering to pick up a drop-shot and scoop away sharply cross-court.

That silenced many in the 15,000 crowd on Rod Laver Arena who were supporting Federer.

But not the noisy bunch of Serbs sat behind his player box, to where he shot a steely side-glance as he clenched a fist in celebration.

From that point it was difficult to envisage a comeback for Federer, who somehow came through five-set matches against third-round opponent John Millman and then Sandgren.

Djokovic picked his moment to break in the third set, finishing off a precise point with a wonderful forehand winner that kissed the sideline for a 4-2 lead.

Federer said after beating Sandgren he would always believe in miracles until defeat was confirmed.

This time it would truly have been a miraculous escape against someone of Djokovic's class.

Federer valiantly levelled at 30-30 as Djokovic tried to serve out the match, only for the Serb to refocus and seal victory in two hours 18 minutes.

Federer starts well but momentum swings

Concerns had been voiced by some at Melbourne Park that Federer might pull out in the hours leading up to the match. They proved unfounded.

Instead he came out firing in an extraordinary start in which his fitness issues did not stop him building up a lead.

Although he had to stave off two break points in the opening game, he eventually came through a six-minute hold before the pair exchanged three successive breaks.

Federer turned the set 4-1 in his favour with supreme serving and shot-making, leaving the stunned crowd murmuring in excitement at what they had just seen.

"It was not exactly the right mindset for me at the start - I was looking at how he was moving rather than executing my shots," Djokovic said.

Djokovic faced three more break points to go 5-1 down but hung on to leave Federer still needing two more games.

A 61-second hold to love - ace, backhand-volley winner, ace, service winner - put him within one.

Then, as the aces and winners started to dry up, momentum swung back as Djokovic won the next three games as a tie-break beckoned.

The pair had won 44 points each going into the set decider, despite Federer hitting 25 winners to Djokovic's six.

But Djokovic upped the ante in the breaker, blasting an ace past Federer for a 5-1 lead at the changeover and two more winners seeing him through.

That proved pivotal in the context of the match and ultimately terminal to Federer's chances.

"I managed to dig my way through and it was very important to win that first set," Djokovic said. "Then mentally I could relax and swing through the ball a bit more."

Race to be the 'GOAT' continues

Djokovic's victory over Federer in last year's historic Wimbledon final took him closer to the Swiss' Grand Slam tally than he has ever been.

Now the Serb, who has won six of the past nine tournaments in Melbourne, is aiming to further reduce the gap on Sunday.

Almost six years younger than Federer, Djokovic could add plenty more, barring a loss of form or fitness.

His pursuit of Federer and Nadal is made more remarkable by the fact he won his first major in 2008 - when Federer had claimed 13 and Nadal five - and only added a second three years later.

Nadal, however, is another major obstacle for Djokovic - and also a concern for Federer.

Wouldn't it be nice to be talking about rugby? And the fact that we're not makes the events of the last week such a frustration.

After the disappointment of the World Cup, we should all be focused on Scotland's Six Nations opener against Ireland, and nothing but that. Sadly, this has not been the case. All we can do is wait and hope that a solution to Finn Russell's departure from the squad is reached - quickly.

I feel for Stuart Hogg. As a new captain and settling into the role, he doesn't need to be distracted by something like this. This is a new Scotland squad, make no bones about it. New coaches, new players, a changing of the guard and an opportunity for Hoggy to really stamp his mark on this group, and the leadership within it.

Having to deal with adversity can bring a group closer. Let's hope it does just that as they head from their training camp in Spain to Dublin to face Ireland.

We don't know the exact nature of the conversations on that Sunday night. We don't know the words used and how they were used. The tone - we don't know. If it is what we are led to believe, then there are standards and nobody is above that. You can't have different rules for different people. Culture is everything.

Any comment on what happened is just speculation. In time hopefully the facts will come out and people will get some solid information on which to base their opinions.

'Greig was the yin to Finn's yang'

I have a good relationship with Finn; so has Greig Laidlaw. We both captained him with Scotland and we both know the qualities he has.

Greig was like a mentor to Finn, off the field as well as on it. They were very close. I wonder if Greig had been around the hotel that night would this have got to the stage it has got to? That's not a slight on the current leadership group, more a recognition of the close relationship that Finn and Greig had, and the utmost respect Finn had for Greig. The yin to his yang.

That being said, Finn has a great relationship with Hoggy and Sean Maitland and a lot of other boys and I'm sure they were trying to get him out of the bar before it became a situation.

Your culture is your most important thing. Once it got to the point it had got to, I'm not sure what options Gregor Townsend had. Gregor more than anyone understands the value of a world class 10. What he also understands is the value of culture and setting off on the wrong foot - before a minute of rugby has been played - obviously didn't sit well.

I just wish that all of this could have been avoided. I'm speaking as a Scotland fan now. Adam Hastings is playing some audacious stuff at Glasgow. I have no doubt he will shine at this level. That is missing the point, which is you don't want a world class 10 sitting in Dubai.

There is a lot of talk of a personality clash between Gregor and Finn. I am not privy to that. What I do know is that you don't have to be best pals with your coach. Regardless of that, though, trust and respect must remain an integral part of the relationship. Scotland won two Grand Slams and a championship with Jim Telfer in charge and he wasn't exactly giving his players a cuddle every day.

There be can be differences of opinion. Everyone is there for the same reason. They're all desperate for Scotland to succeed.

'Big opportunity for Hastings'

Finn is a senior player now and I don't want to speculate too much on what might happen. All I can comment on is the qualities I know he possesses. Call me biased, but Finn has the ability to do things no other stand-off in world rugby can do. Scotland need his qualities.

I've been thinking about Adam and I'm sure he'll be fine with it. It's not ideal to have all this going on, but my feeling is that he will be ecstatic to be in the team for such a huge match. He'll have empathy with Finn, of course, but this is his big opportunity and he's getting it on the back of a string of excellent performances for Glasgow.

Adam has never played against Ireland and has never started a Six Nations game. He's not weighed down by all the bad results we've had on the road over the years. He's got no baggage.

He might know that we haven't won in Dublin in 10 years but I doubt that he'll care. It's nothing to do with him. Plenty of the other boys will have played in a lot of those games, though.

It's no great mystery why we did poorly at the World Cup and why we've struggled in general. Our defence was too leaky in Japan. That has to be the backbone of the team. For all the noises about all the work we were doing on defence before the World Cup, it didn't materialise, we didn't deliver as players.

Nobody wants to see Scotland playing rugby by numbers, but potentially a more pragmatic approach is what I would want. We don't have the power game of other teams. We have to play a slightly different brand of rugby because of the body shapes we have.

You can still play expansively but it's about when you play and what positions of the field you play in. When to run, when to kick, when to be happier without the ball.

We all know Scotland can score tries, and they will, I have no doubt. But keeping an eye on the energy of the team is crucial, as a tired team is a less effective defensive unit. Play in the right areas, have a crack from anywhere, but there must be a balance to it.

I am beyond excited to watch this Scotland team evolve. And it should be evolution rather than revolution. Scotland have fantastic options in key positions and a motivated group, led by Hoggy. I'm looking forward to see him develop into the world-class leader I believe he can be.

The World Cup was crushing, the biggest anti-climax ever. We'll have to be exceptional to win in Dublin. Not because we have a poor record there, but because any team that wins there has to be exceptional.

I'd like to see us being in the hunt late on. We didn't do that in the big moments in the World Cup, the moments that counted. Test match rugby is about margins and Scotland must win these margins and win them often.

The main wish for Dublin is that with a few minutes left to play we're right in it. With or without Finn it was always going to be a big challenge - but a thrilling one.

Former Scotland captain John Barclay was talking to BBC Sport Scotland's chief sportswriter Tom English.

For rugby union fans, there are few things better than an afternoon spent watching the Six Nations with friends and family.

But what if those friends and family aren't rugby union lovers?

For those of us who are less obsessed with the game, let's face it: the language can get a bit complicated (gain-line, blind side, open side, overlap... what?!)

If you need to blag your way through a Six Nations weekend, we've got you. Take this quiz and learn a few key phrases to scream at the TV.

Edinburgh number eight Nick Haining will make his Scotland debut against Ireland as Gregor Townsend's side start their Six Nations campaign on Saturday.

The starting XV shows 10 changes from the one that faced Japan in Scotland's final match of the Rugby World Cup.

Glasgow Warriors' Adam Hastings replaces Finn Russell with the Racing 92 fly-half having been disciplined following a drinking session.

Prop Rory Sutherland makes his first start for three-and-a-half years.

Despite fellow Edinburgh forward Magnus Bradbury missing out with a thigh strain, the back-row is made up of team-mates from the Pro14 club, with Haining joining Hamish Watson and Jamie Ritchie as the Australia-born 29-year-old makes a late debut to international rugby.

Warriors lock Scott Cummings will make his Six Nations debut in Dublin and, as expected, Warriors outside centre Huw Jones makes his return to the side after improved recent form.

Edinburgh's Blair Kinghorn replaces the injured Darcy Graham on the wing.

Exeter Chiefs full-back Stuart Hogg, Scotland's new team captain, and Glasgow centre Sam Johnson are the only players retained in the back division, with Warriors scrum-half Ali Price and Saracens wing Sean Maitland starting in place of international retirees Greig Laidlaw and Tommy Seymour.

Worcester Warriors back row Cornell du Preez could make his first appearance from the bench since a larynx injury picked up playing for his club in September 2018.

Townsend said: "We have managed to cover a lot of work in the two weeks we've been together and we've been impressed with how our players have taken on information and bonded as a team.

"We must be a relentless collective on the pitch and a nightmare for the Irish to deal with while having the ability and awareness to impose our game at that intensity."

Scotland team to face Ireland

Hogg, capt (Exeter Chiefs); Maitland (Saracens), Jones (Glasgow Warriors), Johnson (Glasgow Warriors), Kinghorn (Edinburgh); Hastings (Glasgow Warriors), Price (Glasgow Warriors); Sutherland (Edinburgh), Brown (Glasgow Warriors), Z Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors); Cummings (Glasgow Warriors), J Gray (Glasgow Warriors); J Ritchie (Edinburgh), Watson (Edinburgh), Haining (Edinburgh).

Replacements: McInally (Edinburgh), Dell (London Irish), Berghan (Edinburgh), Toolis (Edinburgh), Du Preez (Worcester Warriors), G Horne (Glasgow Warriors), Hutchinson (Northampton Saints), Harris (Gloucester).

George North will start at outside centre in Wales' Six Nations opener against Italy, with uncapped Johnny McNicholl taking his place on the wing.

This will be North's fifth start at centre in his 92nd Test, with Wales struggling with injuries in midfield.

New Zealand-born McNicholl, Wales-qualified through residency, plays his first Test after scoring a try in last year's uncapped win over Barbarians.

Tomos Williams is preferred to the returning Rhys Webb at scrum-half.

Saturday's match at Cardiff's Principality Stadium will be Wayne Pivac's first Test since succeeding Warren Gatland as head coach of the reigning Six Nations champions.

Webb returns for his first Wales game since December 2017 on the replacements bench, with Gareth Davies failing to shake off a late injury.

The centre vacancy for North has been created with British and Irish Lions team-mate Jonathan Davies missing the tournament through a knee injury and Owen Watkin still returning to fitness from his own knee problem.

Saracens centre Nick Tompkins is in line to win his first Wales cap after being named on the bench.

Former England Under-20s centre Tompkins, 24, qualifies through his Welsh grandmother who was born in Wrexham.

There is no room in the 23-man squad for Gloucester 18-year-old wing Louis Rees-Zammit.

Elsewhere, number eight Taulupe Faletau returns for his first international in almost two years.

Faletau's most recent Test match was against France in March 2018 and he was then sidelined by a succession of arm and collarbone injuries which forced him to miss the 2019 World Cup in Japan.

Aaron Wainwright and Justin Tipuric join Faletau in the back row, while Cardiff Blues flanker Josh Navidi will miss the start of the Six Nations with a hamstring injury.

With Tomas Francis injured, Dillon Lewis starts at tight-head prop alongside Scarlets duo Wyn Jones and Ken Owens in the front row.

Tight-head prop Leon Brown will make his tournament debut from the bench, while Jake Ball joins captain Alun Wyn Jones in the second row.

"I'm happy with the side and looking forward to this weekend," said Pivac.

"It is great for Johnny McNicholl to get his first cap. I thought he played really well against the Barbarians so it is a great opportunity for him this weekend.

"George has had a number of games in the midfield for Wales and more recently for the Ospreys and he has been running there in training. We have been impressed with him there and he is excited by the opportunity.

"Nick [Tompkins] has trained well and has impressed and we are looking forward to seeing him at some stage during the game.

"We've had a couple of injuries. Josh Navidi picked up a hamstring injury so he is out for a few weeks, while Liam Williams, Owen Watkin, Gareth Davies and Elliot Dee weren't quite ready to be available for selection.

"The whole team has a great vibe and we are looking forward to getting out there in front of our home supporters on Saturday."

Wales team to face Italy

Leigh Halfpenny; Johnny McNicholl, George North, Hadleigh Parkes, Josh Adams; Dan Biggar, Tomos Williams; Wyn Jones, Ken Owens, Dillon Lewis, Jake Ball, Alun Wyn Jones (capt), Aaron Wainwright, Justin Tipuric, Taulupe Faletau.

Replacements: Ryan Elias, Rob Evans, Leon Brown, Cory Hill, Ross Moriarty, Rhys Webb, Jarrod Evans, Nick Tompkins.