Australia and Belarus shared the spoils on day one of their Fed Cup semi-final in Brisbane on Saturday with Ashleigh Barty sweeping past Victoria Azarenka while Aryna Sabalenka ground down Samantha Stosur.
With the tie evenly poised at 1-1, the reverse singles on Sunday will be critical, with world number nine Barty first up against 10th ranked Sabalenka before the veteran pair of Stosur and Azarenka face off.
While Belarus are bidding to reach the final for the second time in three attempts, after being beaten by the United States in 2017, Australia are targeting their first decider in 26 years.
It's been an even longer wait between titles, with the last of Australia's seven victories coming in 1974.
France or Romania await this weekend's winner.
"I'm so proud of the level of tennis the girls put on today," said Australia captain Alicia Molik.
"It's a great position we're in and we are prepared for a fifth rubber if necessary. We have a quality doubles pairing."
That combination will see Barty and Stosur team up against Lidziya Marozava and Vera Lapko if the tie goes that far.
An ice cool Barty, who has rocketed through the ranks, breaking into the top 10 with her win at the Miami Open this month, proved too much for tour doubles partner Azarenka at Pat Rafter Arena, winning 7-6 (7/2), 6-3.
It hauled Australia back into the tie after Sabalenka toiled for 2hrs 47mins to battle past former US Open champion Stosur 7-5, 5-7, 6-3 in the opening rubber.
"It's really special playing at home, this is what Fed Cup is all about," she said, adding that the plan now was to "rest, recover and get my head around playing Aryna".