An unlikely all-Australian men's doubles final will take place on Saturday following straight-set victories from two hometown duos.
Max Purcell and Matthew Ebden will take on Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis in the final, set to be held on Rod Laver Arena following the women's singles final.
The 'Special Ks' faced third-seed pairing Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos in their semi-final in front of a 65 per cent capacity crowd at Rod Laver Arena.
The first set was extremely tense, with neither side able to break their opponent's serve.
A tiebreak was needed, where Kyrgios and Kokkinakis claimed a crucial early mini break and used that momentum to take the set 7-6(4).
The Australian duo then capitalised early in the second set, breaking their opponent's first service game.
However, they appeared to crumble when their service game was broken shortly after, with Kyrgios even smashing his racquet in frustration.
To the delight of the local fans though, the pair re-grouped to win the last game of the set, finished off by a delightful lob from Kokkinakis.
They secured a 7-6(4) 6-4 victory.
Although the match on Rod Laver Arena caught the attention of most tennis fans, Max Purcell and Matthew Ebden quietly defeated their opponents on Margaret Court Arena to book a spot in the final.
They won 6-3 7-6(9), topped off by a thrilling second set comeback.
No. 2 ranked pair Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury stood in their way, but Purcell and Ebden thrived as underdogs.
The hometown team dominated in the first set, winning 6-3, before being forced into a tiebreak in the second set.
Despite falling behind 2-5 during the tiebreak, the Australian duo managed to claw their way back, winning it 11-9 in an enthralling battle.
When the two duos face off on Saturday, it will be the first all-Australian men’s doubles final at the Australian Open since 1980, where Mark Edmondson and Kim Warwick defeated Peter McNamara and Paul McNamee.
