Second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka secured a place in her second consecutive US Open final with a thrilling 6-3, 7-6(2) victory over 13th-seeded Emma Navarro at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Thursday night.

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Former world No. 1 Sabalenka, who finished runner-up to Coco Gauff at last year’s US Open, needed 90 minutes to fend off the advancing American Navarro. She was playing her first Grand Slam semi-final and decided the second set after trailing 5-3 in a tiebreak.

“I really worked hard on my mindset during the match,” Sabalenka said afterwards. “I think I really made a huge improvement in that composure, in those crucial moments.

“Even when things aren’t working out for me, I keep doing the right things and staying in control. I’m really proud, I’m actually really proud of myself for getting to the point where I’m in control of my emotions.”

Expertise in the field of hardcourt: With her victory, the 26-year-old Sabalenka became the first woman to reach the US Open final back-to-back since Serena Williams in 2018 and 2019. Sabalenka has reached all four hardcourt Grand Slam finals in the past two seasons.

Sabalenka is just one victory away from becoming the first woman to win both Grand Slam titles on hard courts in the same year since Angelique Kerber won both the Australian Open and US Open in 2016. Sabalenka won her second consecutive Australian Open title earlier this year.

Continuing in the rivalry: On Thursday night, Sabalenka took revenge for a loss to Navarro in their previous hardcourt encounter, which took place this year in Indian Wells. Sabalenka also defeated Navarro on clay at Roland Garros this season and leads the overall head-to-head 2-1.

Sabalenka has now won 28 consecutive hardcourt Grand Slam matches against players ranked outside the Top 10. It is the longest winning streak since Victoria Azarenka won 29 consecutive hardcourt Grand Slam matches against players ranked outside the Top 10 between the 2012 and 2014 Australian Opens.

Rising American: That said, Navarro won’t be a player outside the Top 10 next Monday. After a career-best performance at a Slam, the 23-year-old Navarro will make her Top 10 debut, with an expected rise from No. 12 to No. 8.

Match moments: After an early exchange of breaks on Thursday, Sabalenka looked in control for the first set-and-a-half. With brilliant power shots from all sides, Sabalenka took the first set, her 16 winners doubling Navarro’s eight.

In the second set, Sabalenka broke for 3-2 and served for the match at 5-4. Suddenly, however, Navarro used blazing speed and well-timed passing shots to shock the No.2 seed. A forehand return winner gave Navarro a double break point and she broke for 5-5 after Sabalenka missed a backhand.

In the tiebreak, Sabalenka double-faulted to trail 2-0, and a third set became a real possibility. But Sabalenka recovered, hit a forehand winner to get on the scoreboard in the breaker, and regained the momentum for good.

Sabalenka took a 3-2 lead in the tiebreak by capping an 18-point rally with a winning volley, and she was unstoppable from then on. A convincing smash gave her a seventh straight point to close out the tiebreak, sealing her ticket for another US Open final appearance.