Fine magnet Nicolas Kiefer says he won't be toning down the combative spirit that has taken him to his first Grand Slam semi-final on Friday night - an Australian Open showdown with world No.1 Roger Federer.

German 21st seed Kiefer has been fined nearly $A8,000 for a series of outbursts on his way through the tournament at Melbourne Park - his latest a US$1,000 (A$1,330) slug for verbal abuse in his quarter-final epic against Sebastien Grosjean.

But Kiefer, whose antics have won him the tournament's bad boy tag, said he had no intention of reining in his emotions when he tackled iceman Federer at Rod Laver Arena.

"I need my emotions. When I don't show any emotions, I am not happy," Kiefer said.

"I mean, you need to fight for every point and, as everybody knows, when you fight for over four hours, almost five hours, you are so tense.

"I think it's quite normal."

The unflappable Federer's Open exertions have been confined to the physical, struggling through a tough fourth round five-setter against Tommy Haas and beating Russian fifth seed Nikolay Davydenko in four sets in the quarters.

Kiefer was one of the few players to trouble Federer on his rise through the rankings, but the Swiss has taken control in recent encounters.

At one stage, Kiefer led Federer 3-1 in their head-to-head, but Federer has won their past six encounters.

Still, Federer is expecting a difficult match-up.

"Don't be surprised if it's going to be tough again because I've had some tough matches with Kiefer," Federer said.

"Look into the statistics. He's beaten me a couple of times, so I'm ready for a tough one."

The winner will play unseeded Marcos Baghdatis in the final after the Cypriot booked a place with an epic five-set victory over fourth seed David Nalbandian on Thursday night.

Australia's Samantha Stosur will have the opportunity to win an Open title when she teams with American Lisa Raymond in the women's doubles final today.

Stosur and Raymond take on China's No.12 seeds Zi Yan and Jie Zheng on Rod Laver Arena ahead of the men's semi-final.

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