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          ICYMI: Williams sisters set up dream final, Roger holds off Stan

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          Serena looking forward to facing Venus in final (1:39)

          Serena Williams breaks down what it will be like facing her sister Venus in the Australian Open final. (1:39)

          • Jake MichaelsJan 26, 2017, 07:35 AM
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              Jake Michaels is a Melbourne-based sports writer who has worked for ESPN since 2013. He primarily writes on the AFL, but his assignments have taken him all around the world, covering everything from Formula One to Grand Slam tennis, championship boxing to international basketball, and the Olympic Games.
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          MELBOURNE, Australia -- The 2017 Australian Open keeps on delivering.

          Serena Williams, the 22-time Grand Slam champion, will meet sister Venus, who's won seven of her own, in Saturday's Australian Open women's final.

          While Serena breezed past Mirjana Lucic-Baroni in just 50 minutes, Venus Williams was made to work a little harder against compatriot CoCo Vandeweghe. The 36-year-old dropped the first set in a tiebreaker but bounced back strongly to win 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-3. READ MORE

          The legendary sisters have a combined age of 71, but that experience has paid off.

          The numbers crunch:

          • Venus reached her first Grand Slam final since 2009 and her first in Australia since 2003.

          • Saturday's match will be the 15th time the sisters have met in a Grand Slam, the ninth in a final.

          • Serena can recapture the No. 1 ranking from Angelique Kerber by winning Saturday's final.

          Federer outlasts Wawrinka

          With the dream women's final already in place, it was over to the men, and fan favorite Roger Federer didn't disappoint.

          The 35-year-old's stunning renaissance continued on Rod Laver Arena on Thursday, holding off countryman Stan Wawrinka in five sets to advance to his sixth Australian Open final. READ MORE

          The second men's semifinal featuring Rafael Nadal and Grigor Dimitrov will be played Friday.

          The numbers crunch:

          • At 35, Federer will be the oldest player in a men's Grand Slam final since Ken Rosewall (39) at the 1974 US Open.

          • The 2017 men's final is the first in 15 years not to feature any of the top four seeds.

          • In 14 attempts on hard courts, Wawrinka has never beaten Federer.

          Bryan brothers eyeing history

          The Williams sisters aren't the only American siblings breaking records Down Under.

          The dynamic duo of Bob and Mike Bryan are through to their 10th Australian Open final after coming from a set down to defeat Pablo Carreno Busta and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.

          Victory for the American twins will see them record their 17th Grand Slam title each, overtaking Australian great Todd Woodbridge for the most of all time in doubles. READ MORE

          The Bryan Brothers will meet Melbourne's own John Peers and his Finnish teammate, Henri Kontinen, in the final.

          Grigor's stunning turnaround

          It's amazing how quickly things can turn in sport.

          Six months ago, Grigor Dimitrov was ranked 40th in the world and seen as a player that would never live up to his "Baby Fed" nickname. But a new coach and some minor tweaks have landed him in the Australian Open semifinals where he'll play Rafael Nadal.

          While Dimitrov's record against Nadal isn't great (1-7), the Bulgarian did manage to win the last time the pair played.

          Inspirational Mirjana

          In a fortnight dominated by record-breakers and history-makers, Mirjana Lucic-Baroni's stunning run to the semifinals would go close to topping them all. The 34-year-old's fairy-tale comeback was the feel-good story of the tournament, and although she bowed out to a dominant Serena Williams, she lost no fans.

          After spending much of the past decade away from the professional tour, the Croatian is set to rocket 50 places to a career-high 29 in the world rankings.

          Speaking postmatch, Williams said: "I'm really happy for her. She's an inspiration and deserves all the credit."