27 January 2012 | Tennis SA

Luke Saville is one win away from becoming the nation’s third Australian Open boys’ singles champion in six years.

Saville, who turns 18 next week, beat Czech 17-year-old Adam Pavlasek 6-3 6-4 on Friday in their semifinal.

The 10th-seeded Pavlasek is the boyfriend of Czech women’s world No.2 Petra Kvitova, who also fell in the semifinals of her event, to Russian Maria Sharapova on Thursday.

Saville, the world’s No.1 junior and top seed, will play an unseeded opponent in Saturday’s final.

American qualifier Mackenzie McDonald and Canadian Filip Peliwo were to meet in the second semifinal later on Friday.

Saville, who won junior Wimbledon last year, is the only Australian left with a chance of taking a trophy home from Melbourne Park.

If he wins on Saturday, he will join fellow Australians Brydan Klein (2007) and Bernard Tomic (2008) on the list of recent Australian champions in the boys’ event.