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Samantha Stosur and Matt Ebden are into the Australian Open mixed doubles final after overcoming American Desirae Krawczyk and Brit Joe Salisbury.
Samantha Stosur's pursuit of more silverware remains on track with the veteran and partner Matt Ebden into the Australian Open mixed doubles final.
The local wildcards won a thrilling affair against American Desirae Krawczyk and Britain's Joe Salisbury 7-5 5-7 10-8, after holding a 6-1 lead in the deciding tiebreak.
They will face Czech Barbora Krejcikova and American Rajeev Ram for the title on Saturday night.
It is a stunning feat given this is the first time Stosur and Ebden have played together.
Stosur, 36, has won three mixed doubles grand-slam titles, including the Australian Open way back in 2005 with Scott Draper, and three women's doubles majors.
Ebden has also had success in the mixed doubles ranks, winning at Melbourne Park in 2013 with Jarmila Gajdosova.
"Any grand slam final is great," Stosur said.
"To have another here for both of us in that arena after the women's singles final is going to be really exciting."
The duo looked in full control in the first-to-10 tiebreak, storming ahead before Salisbury and Krawczyk clocked up a series of winners to level.
With the scores locked at 8-8, Stosur blasted a forehand past Salisbury before Ebden sealed the result with a winning volley.
In the opening set the pairs traded breaks to sit at 5-5. The Australians got a vital boost when they broke Krawczyk to love, leaving Stosur to serve out the set.
The duos went toe-to-toe again in the second set, with Krawczyk and Salisbury taking a 6-5 lead to pile the pressure on Stosur's serve once more.
Two double faults gave the internationals the set to square up the match and force the tiebreak.
Many expected former US Open singles champion Stosur to call time on her career following this grand slam but she is proving she still has plenty to offer.
She posted her best result in five years in the singles draw and now has a chance to finish with another grand-slam title to her name.
Asked whether she would be likely to make a statement about her future or walk away on the quiet - like Serena Williams, speaking after her semi-final defeat by Naomi Osaka, suggested she will - Stosur said she was not sure.
"It's such an individual thing to go through," she said.
"Sometimes it's tough to know whether it's the time or not.
"I hope Serena's back. I guess time will tell."
