After two statement wins in the quarterfinals, Serena Williams and Anastasija Sevastova will meet inside Arthur Ashe Stadium on Thursday night with a spot in Saturday's US Open championship on the line.
They arrive in the final four with a major gulf in Grand Slam experience. Williams' resume, and the 23 Slam singles trophies in it, speaks for itself, but Sevastova is contesting a Slam semifinal for the first time.
Their meeting under the lights in Arthur Ashe Stadium will be the first-ever between the two – but how do their games stack up?
Serena Williams
The six-time US Open champion is back in the semifinals for the 12th time in her career, and the seventh time since 2010.
At this time last year, she had just given birth to her daughter, Alexis Olympia, and made her return to the WTA in the spring. An appearance in the Wimbledon final followed, and Slam No. 24 is once again within reach in Flushing Meadows.
The American came through a third-round clash against sister Venus Williams, and has dropped just one set in the entire tournament – against the big-hitting Estonian Kaia Kanepi in the round of 16.
She escaped losing a second in the quarterfinals against No. 8 seed Karolina Pliskova.
Williams trailed by a break in the opening set before winning four straight games to take it, and eventually won the rematch of the 2016 US Open semifinal in straight sets.
"I'd been a couple steps away at the last Grand Slam, so I'm definitely not ahead of myself. I still know that no matter whether I'm in the semifinals or the finals, I have a really long way to go to win that. Again, that proved to be true at Wimbledon," she said.
"I've seen [Sevastova] play a lot. She's been playing really well for actually a long time. Obviously, I know her game really well. She clearly knows mine. She's definitely someone that gets a lot of balls back and something I have to be ready for."
Anastasija Sevastova
While Williams has all the experience at this stage, Sevastova is just looking to "enjoy" her first-ever appearance in a Slam quarterfinal.
The Latvian, who reached the quarterfinals in each of the past two US Opens before being eliminated, finally advanced to the final four with a victory over defending champion and No. 3 seed Sloane Stephens on Tuesday afternoon.
It was her second win over a Top 10 seed this fortnight, as she also beat No. 7 seed Elina Svitolina. Though Williams might not be seeded in the Top 10 – she's No. 17 – the No. 19 seeded Latvian will have to make it a hat-trick of big wins should she want to become the second woman from her country to reach a Slam final in singles.
Sevastova might take heart in the fact that her style of play is very reminiscent of a woman who conquered the 23-time Slam champion in the final four of the US Open in recent years.
With a counter-punching style, soft hands at the net and a penchant for using the dropshot, Sevastova's tennis is akin to that of Roberta Vinci, who shocked Williams in the semifinals of the 2015 US Open as she chased history.
The Latvian has played in four previous semifinals this season, going 2-2 in those matches. She's a proven threat on all surfaces, as she made those appearances on the hard courts of Brisbane, the clay courts of Charleston and Bucharest, and the grass courts of Mallorca.
"I don't look that far ahead. I mean, there is still semifinals," she said, when asked about being within touching distance of a major final for the first time.
"I was also two times in the quarters, and I also didn't look ahead. It's still long way to go, I think. The Grand Slams are so long... You have to see that what you're doing, it's like a privilege here."
