Kim Birrell has had a taste of Australian Open action and is desperate for another, with a wildcard up for grabs at Melbourne Park on Sunday.
The 20-year-old will take on former US college student Astra Sharma for the prize after the pair advanced through contrasting semi-finals.
In the men's final on Sunday Luke Saville will take on James Duckworth also for direct entry into the main draw of the January grand slam.
Birrell, from the Gold Coast, continued her run of impressive form with a 6-4-6-4 win over second seed Ellen Perez and has moved into the final without dropping a set.
West Australian Sharma booked her place with a hard-fought 3-6 6-4 6-3 win over Victoria's Zoe Hives.
Birrell has played in the Open once before, granted a wildcard into the 2016 grand slam just after making her 2016 debut.
Her blossoming career stalled when she required elbow surgery later that year.
"It would be amazing to win tomorrow," Birrell said.
"As an Australian in a tennis family, I've grown up watching the Open throughout my entire life.
"I got a wild card a couple of years ago but that was pre-surgery so it would be great to go full circle and get another one."
Sharma is a virtual unknown on the Australian scene having spent the past five years playing college tennis with the prestigious Vanderbilt University in Tennessee while completing a medical health degree.
The 23-year-old has only played fulltime since finishing her studies in May, although the pair have played twice before in 2017, splitting results.
"She's made big improvements since she's finished college and had an awesome back end of the year," Birrell told Tennis Australia.
Hitting a career-high ranking of 259 in October, Birrell said confidence in her game had grown.
She said she'd been focusing more on the mental side of her play.
"Staying positive and coping with adversity and my attitude is something I've really been working on and trying to enjoy the battle," Birrell said.
"I feel my tennis ability is there but it's more the mental side of things I've been focusing on."
Sharma said winning a wildcard would be a "dream come true".
"But either way, it's good. I'm just happy how I'm playing and setting myself up long term for the Aussie summer."
