Rafael Nadal is relishing the prospect of facing long-time adversary Roger Federer in the Australian Open final as he joined the Swiss in the last four on Wednesday.

The Spaniard eased past third seed Milos Raonic at Melbourne Park 6-4 7-6 (9-7) 6-4 to seal his progression and keep the prospect of a meeting with Federer on Sunday alive.

In 2009 the pair played out a sensational five-set finale at the grand slam with Nadal eventually prevailing as he took the decider 6-2.

And both of them being in contention for the title again is fantastic to see, according to Nadal.

"I think it's amazing, after a tough injury to have Roger back in the semis again is great," he said in his on-court interview after the match.

"Especially for him and all the people who love tennis. I want to congratulate him for a great effort and wish both of them [Federer and semi-final opponent Stan Wawrinka] luck."

Wednesday's win saw Nadal make a tweak in his approach to dealing with Raonic after a recent defeat in Brisbane and he was delighted it paid off.

"Milos beat me three weeks ago in Brisbane so I decided to go a little more inside the return," he added.

"He has one of the top two serves and can play so aggressive on the return. I had to concentrate on my serve and accept the difficulties.

"I [have] had a great career and a lot of tough moments and it makes me enjoy even more the good moments I am having."

Nadal leads the head-to-head against Federer by 23 wins to 11.