Melbourne, Australia, 15 December 2012 | Natalie Yoannidis

West Australian Bojana Bobusic has won through to her first Australian Open Play-off final after downing fourth seed Arina Rodionova in straight sets, 7-5 6-2.

Rodionova celebrated her 23rd birthday today but Bobusic was determined to ensure the match was far from a cakewalk.

It was a dominant display by Bobusic who lost to Rodionova in a tight three set encounter just two weeks ago in Traralgon.

The No. 5 seed wasted no time in surging to a 4-1 lead in the first set by putting enormous pressure on her opponent’s ground strokes.

Bobusic continued assert her authority on the match, running Rodionova around the court on her way to a commanding 5-2 lead.

But it was not all smooth sailing for the West Australian as the Victorian Rodionova found her way back into the match.

With elder sister Anastasia watching on from the stands, Rodionova fought back to regain the double break and square the first set scores at 5-5.

Eventually Bobusic was able to re-establish her composure breaking her opponent before closing out the see sawing set 7-5.

> view the AO Play-off women’s draw

The second set looked to be heading in a similar direction to the first as Bobusic gained the break in just the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead.

Despite a spirited fight from Rodionova, Bobusic continued to grow in confidence as she surged closer to claiming that elusive Australian Open wildcard.

The fifth seed needed two match points before closing out the final set 6-2 to book herself a spot in the final, something she said she was delighted with.

“I was really happy with that and I’m looking forward to tomorrow,” she said.

“I’ve never played off in the final here I made it to the semis last year so it’s good to go one step further.”

Bobusic said it was her ability to keep her head in tight situations that pleased her most today.

“I managed to close it out in both sets I was up 4-1 and then 5-2 and Arina keep fighting and I was just happy to close it out.”

Bobusic made her senior debut at the Australian Open in just 2012 where she was beaten by German Angelique Kerber in the first round.