Australia's Matthew Ebden is one win away from his third grand slam title after surging into the Australian Open men's doubles final with veteran Rohan Bopanna.
The second seeds came out on top in their semi-final against Zhang Zhizhen and Tomas Machac on Thursday, winning 6-3 3-6 7-6 (10-7).
Ebden and Bopanna, who will become the oldest No.1 pairing in tennis history at the end of the tournament with the Indian aged 43, were cruising at 4-1 up in the third set.
However, the Chinese-Czech duo forced the match to a match tiebreak.
But 'The Big Bopper' calmly served out the match, prompting Bopanna to chest bump with Ebden.
"What an epic third set," Ebden said.
"I've just got to hand it to my partner. We've been fighting since round one; a lot of tough moments, fighting through one-by-one.
"I'm proud of my partner. We've been working hard for over a year now together so one more match to fight through."
The pair will meet Italians Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori in the final after they defeated German duo Dominik Koepffer and Yannick Hanfmann in their semi-final 6-3 3-6 7-6 (10-5).
It is the third-straight year an Australia has featured in a men's doubles decider at Melbourne Park.
Ebden and Max Purcell lost the all-Aussie final in 2022 after countrymen Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis famously "jumped off the couch" to claim their maiden major title.
Jason Kubler and Rinky Hijikata won last year's title but fell in three sets in the second round this tournament.
Ebden won Wimbledon alongside Sydneysider Purcell in 2022 and picked up the Australian Open mixed doubles with compatriot Jarmila Gajdosova back in 2013.
