No.1 seed Luke Saville is a step closer to claiming a coveted wildcard entry into the main draw of the Australian Open.

Saville, 20, dropped the first set of his quarter-final against eighth seed Gavin Van Peperzeel in warm conditions at Melbourne Park on Wednesday, but soon found his rhythm to prevail in four sets.

The South Australian is gunning for his third appearance in the main draw of a grand slam.

He was awarded a wildcard at the 2013 Australian Open, where he lost in the first round, but battled his way through the qualifying rounds into this year’s Wimbledon main draw where he shocked Austrian rising star Dominic Thiem in the first round before bowing out.

“It’s been a good year for me with Wimbledon and then winning a few futures, but all that’s behind me now and I’m just trying to focus on the challenges ahead,” Saville said.

“This year has given me a good base, but I’m really focused on the Australian summer and getting some good results now. I’ve got another big match ahead of me on Friday and hopefully I can keep some momentum going.”

Saville will need to overcome last year’s wildcard play-off winner, Jordan Thompson, to advance to Sunday’s final after the Sydneysider accounted for Marc Polmans in straight sets.

John-Patrick Smith and Ben Mitchell will meet in the other semi-final.

Saville, who won Australian Open and Wimbledon titles as a junior, admits the transition to the professional circuit has been tougher than he expected, but his aim is to improve his current world ranking of 165 and break into the top 100 in 2015.

“It’s taken me a little longer than I probably would have hoped, but it’s all been good experience,” he said.

The women’s singles quarter-finals get underway at Melbourne Park on Thursday with No.1 seed Olivia Rogowska headlining the action.