Former World No 1 Rafael Nadal, who has coped with a painful knee injury to storm into the Australian Open finals, is relieved to have entered the final stage of the Grand Slam tournament 'injury-free'.

He revealed that he was crying before his first round match over fears that he would be forced to drop out of the tournament.

"Sunday afternoon, 24 hours to play my first match, I was in my room crying because I believe I didn't had the chance to play Melbourne. So it was a very, very tough situation for me," The Herald Sun quoted Nadal, as saying.

"Two weeks later I am here in the finals, so is a dream for me because having very bad expectations 24 hours before the first match, and now two weeks later I am playing well. Always play grand slam final is very good news. Last four grand slams I have been in the finals, so is a great effort, I think," he added.

Nadal , who is bidding for his second Australian Open title, the will face Djokovic in the finals.

He said his coach Tony's strategy requiring him to stand inside the baseline has yielded results and led to his 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 win against Federer in the semi-finals.

"It's one of the victories that's going to stay in my mind forever. It's a fantastic way to start the season," Nadal said. (ANI)