A local pair is guaranteed to win the Australian Open mixed doubles crown for the first time in 12 years after Kim Birrell and John-Patrick Smith joined Olivia Gadecki and John Peers in the final.
Gadecki and Peers beat Kiwis Erin Routliffe and Michael Venus 6-4 6-4 in their semi-final on Wednesday.
Fellow wildcards Birrell and Smith beat Brits Olivia Nicholls and Henry Patten 7-6 (7-2) 6-2 in the other semi-final on Wednesday evening to tee up the all-Aussie clash.
Both pairs will hope to become the first Australians to win the title since Matt Ebden and Jarmila Wolfe (nee Gajdosova) in 2013.
"It's very special to have made my first grand slam final here in Aus in front of a home crowd and family," Gadecki said.
"It's incredible and I'm really looking forward to Friday.
"To have an All-Aussie final would be such a great opportunity - either way we've got an Aussie winning a slam. So that's pretty incredible."
Birrell starred in her first-set tiebreak with Smith to help tee up a maiden slam final appearance.
"I'm just having the best time playing with JP and I think that's showing in my tennis," Birrell said.
"I'm just so, so stoked to play in a grand slam final, it's crazy.
"I played in the mixed doubles with Liv so fair to say we know each other."
A doubles crown would give Ash Barty's former protegee Gadecki, 22, who broke into the singles top 100 last year, a handy confidence and cash boost.
The winning pair will split $175,000, while the runners-up share $97,750.
Veteran doubles player Peers, 36, will be looking to add another title to his decorated doubles resume.
He won Olympic men's doubles gold with Ebden last year, the 2017 Australian Open doubles title with Henri Kontinen, the mixed doubles bronze with Barty in 2021 and the 2022 US Open mixed doubles title with Storm Sanders.
Smith, 35, was mixed doubles runner-up in 2019 with Astra Sharma, while this is 26-year-old Birrell's first big tilt at a doubles title.
