Unseeded pair Petra Martic and Elise Mertens and will face off in the fourth round of Australian Open 2018 after overcoming Luksika Kumkhum and Alize Cornet respectively.
The duo have never met on tour before and will be desperate to post a victory with a maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal appearance the prize for the winner.
MORE: All the latest scores and results
On her birthday, Martic was made to work in her match against Kumkhum, but was able to hold off some sublime shotmaking to claim a 6-3 3-6 7-5 win in two hours and 10 minutes.
It is the fourth time she has reached the fourth round at a major, including two last year, and she admitted she was completely shocked that her run in Melbourne is still alive.
“I really didn't expect coming from Auckland, to be honest, I didn't feel good on the court, I didn't really feel my game was really there,” she said.
“That's why I decided to skip Hobart and took more days to practice. Match to match, I just felt better and better
“I managed to find myself in the fourth round again, which is incredible.”
In the same section of the draw, qualifier Denisa Allertova eased past Pole Magda Linette 6-1 6-4 in just over an hour to make it three of the four players left in that quarter of the draw unseeded.
Martic and Kumkhum were first up at Rod Laver Arena on Day 5 and the Croatian was immediately on the counter, with her Thai opponent jumping out of the blocks early with a break in the second game.
However, it was the Croatian who pounced, claiming six of the last seven games to clinch the opening set in 37 minutes.
Martic had one foot in the fourth round, but Kumkhum, who is double-handed on both wings, had other ideas and began hitting winners from all angles of the court.
The Thai world No.124 made the early break stick in the second set, running away with it to force a decider.
Ten of the 19 games in the first two sets were breaks of serve, and when the pair exchanged breaks in the opening two games of the final set, it looked like it would come down to who could serve consistently.
The next eight games bucked the trend, with both players holding their service games despite the immense pressure as the set moved to the advantage stage.
With scores locked at 5-5 it was Martic who finally made the breakthrough, with Kumkhum making two unforced errors from 40-30 ahead before double faulting to concede the break.
The Croatian sealed the match comfortably to the delight of her support box, who began singing happy birthday immediately at the conclusion of the match.
Mertens was also able to overcome the sweltering Melbourne heat as well as Frenchwoman Alize Cornet 7-5 6-4 on Hisense Arena.
Mertens gained the break of serve early in the match, and repeated to the dose to build a 4-1 lead before Cornet clawed her way back into the set and level proceedings at 4-4.
Undeterred, the Belgian continued to press the Frenchwoman and broke in the 11th game of the set before serving it out as Cornet appeared to struggle in the extreme heat.
The ice bag replenishment was not enough for Cornet as she was broken immediately, before taking a medical timeout trailing 1-2.
Mertens was undeterred and despite a late rally from Cornet, she did enough to set up the fourth-round meeting with Martic.
She said it was one of the toughest wins in her career and gave credit to Cornet for fighting out the match in the tough conditions.
"I think this is one of the toughest conditions I've ever had actually but I'm happy I had it here because I love it," she said.
"It's very hot, I mean for both of us of course it's the same and credit to her for keeping it up,
"Thanks to you guys as well for coming to support us in the heat."
Meanwhile, qualifier Allertova will meet fourth seed Elina Svitolina in the round of 16 in what will be the Czech’s first appearance in the second week of a Grand Slam.