An Australian will contest the Sydney International women's final for the first time in 12 years after Ashleigh Barty set up a mouth-watering final-four clash with Daria Gavrilova.
The exciting young duo will on Friday face-off for a place in the decider after Barty pummelled an error-prone Barbora Strycova 6-3 6-2 on Thursday.
The 19th-ranked Barty currently holds the crown over the 25th-ranked Gavrilova, however the latter holds an impressive 12-1 record against her compatriots in her past 13 matches.
"Yeah, she beat me last year," Barty recalled after her win.
"We'll see if I can make it (12-2). Dash and I had a cracking match in Strasbourg, (six-all) in the third. It literally could have gone either way with the net cord.
"For us, it's perfect. We can go out and have a really good match, go hard at each other, and still shake hands, have a hug at the end of the match, and wish each other the best."
The 19th-ranked Barty showed why she entered the summer as the nation's No.1 player by breaking Strycova's serve midway through the first set before shattering her spirit thereafter.
Strycova, the world No. 21, grew in frustration as the Ipswich product flashed an array of impressive shots to run away with the match.
In a positive sign ahead of next week's Australian Open, Barty has yet to drop a set in the harbour city this week.
"It's nice to just know that the tennis is there. Even though it hasn't been perfect the last two weeks, today was certainly a step up," she said.
"It's nice to come in so close to a slam. For me, it's nice to get another chance tomorrow and go out and try and fix up a few more things."
The all-Australian affair is a huge result for a tournament that boasted 15 of the world's top 25 women in the main draw, including six grand slam champions.
Not since Samantha Stosur edged Alicia Molik in an all-Australian battle the title in 2005 - Lleyton Hewitt also notched the men's that year - has a local reached the final.
"It's amazing for the tournament, for Aussie fans, to have an Australian in the final. I think for both of us it's nice to get a few matches leading into a slam," Barty said.
"But first thing's first, we both want to win the match tomorrow and then hopefully go on and win the tournament. Hopefully we can play in front of a full, passionate Aussie crowd."
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