Ticket prices soaring for Australian Open finals Roger Federer will play Rafael Nadal for a spot in the Australian Open final. THE Australian Open is resisting a push to switch to an AFL Grand Final-style ticketing system, despite seats to matches being sold for up to 10 times above their value. Tickets to Friday night's semi-final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were for sale online on Thursday night for more than $2000, despite being worth only $224.90. Internet auction site Viagogo listed match tickets for up to $1900 above face value after fans performed more than 300 searches a minute for tickets after the fixture was set. Seats to this weekend's men's and women's finals are also for sale at hugely inflated prices online, in a trend slammed by tournament chiefs and authorised ticket sellers. Australian Open director Craig Tiley admitted such mark-ups were a rip-off that robbed real fans of the chance to see their sporting heroes. But he said the grand slam would not switch to being a ­"declared" event - like the AFL Grand Final, which legally bans the sale of tickets for more than face value - ­because he was not convinced it would stop scalpers. This year the Open introduced a fan marketplace where unwanted tickets can be sold at face value. But Ticketek Australia managing director Cameron Hoy said fans had been overcharged or sold fakes. "Ultimately it's the fans who lose, either by paying prices that are hugely over ­inflated ... or we've also seen staff in box offices at venues have to tell fans that their tickets are of no value," he said. Tickets to Saturday's women's final are meant to cost no more than $294.90 and to Sunday's men's final up to $394.90. They were selling for as much as $700 and more than $2000 respectively on ­Viagogo. Men's finals tickets were also sold for $2639 on eBay. Viagogo Asia Pacific head Alex Levenson said only the most diehard fans were willing to pay $2000 for a semi-final ticket.