MELBOURNE (REUTERS) - Stanislas Wawrinka will bid to break the "Big Four" strangle-hold on Grand Slam silverware after edging out Tomas Berdych 6-3 6-7 (1-7) 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-4) in a serving war on Thursday to reach the Australian Open final.

In a slow-burning contest that occasionally roared to life, the Swiss eighth seed stepped up on big points to reach his first major final where he will meet either top seed Rafa Nadal or his great compatriot Roger Federer.

With only a single break of serve in the entire match, Wawrinka upped the ante in the decisive tie-break, earning three match points when his seventh-seeded Czech opponent pushed a serve long.

He closed out the match with another huge serve and punched his fists in the air as the Rod Laver Arena crowd roared.