The Briton, seeded fifth in the tournament, came from a set down to win 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-1 7-6 (7-2) against the seventh seed.

Murray was not on his best form at the start of the match and the quick Spaniard capitalised to take the first set. Murray then switched to plan B and kept the rallies shorter as he started to take more chances on his shots.

Ferrer continued to provide a tough test but Murray’s serve was reliable on important points and he showed his quality by dominating the crucial second and fourth set tie breaks.

Murray’s opponent in the final on Sunday is the third seed Novak Djokovic. The Serbian caused an upset by defeating the defending champion Roger Federer 7-6 (7-3) 7-5 6-4 in front of a lively crowd in the Rod Laver Arena. The loss for Federer means it is the first time he has not held a Grand Slam title since the first of his sixteen Grand Slam wins at Wimbledon in 2003.

Djokovic will be the favourite going into the final having been in top form throughout the tournament. Murray has won the last three matches he has played against Djokovic, but the Serbian won their four meetings previous to that and has won the Australian Open before, claiming the title in 2008.

Murray v Djokovic is live on BBC One on Sunday 30 January from 8.15 a.m.

Words by online sports reporter Jack Ross