Serena Williams will compete in her 32nd Grand Slam final on Saturday — 19 years and 364 days since her first and on the same US Open stage.
The 37-year-old set up a fourth attempt at a record-equalling 24th singles Grand Slam title after swatting aside Elina Svitolina, who had defeated British No1 Johanna Konta in the preceding round, 6-3, 6-1.
For Williams, it is also the chance for a first Grand Slam title since the birth of her daughter in September 2017.
On three occasions she has come close: a losing finalist at Wimbledon for the past two years, as well as being on the wrong end of that notoriously bad-tempered final at Flushing Meadows a year ago.
After matching Chris Evert’s record 101st US Open career win to set up a shot at winning the title for a 10th time, Williams said: “I don’t think about the numbers, I just come out here and do as well as I can. I’ve been here for 20 years — and I’m still here.”
Williams believes she is the fittest she has been in the two years since giving birth, clear of the knee injury which curtailed her early-season ambitions and left her off the pace in Paris.
She faces Canadian Bianca Andreescu, who is making her debut in the main draw after failing to even come through qualifying in New York a year ago. In a tighter semi-final, the 19-year-old beat Belinda Bencic 7-6, 7-5.
Williams said: “I feel more prepared for this tournament. I joked I trained more for Canada [and the preceding Rogers Cup] than I did for any other tournament this year. I just had a really tough year with injuries, mostly bad luck. I just needed to get injury free.
“To be in yet another final, it seems honestly crazy, but I don’t really expect too much less.”
The fact Andreescu was not even born when Williams won the first of her US Open titles says plenty about the veteran American’s longevity in the game.
Andreescu is on a 13-match winning streak and her final opponent warned she would go into a first Grand Slam final with nothing to lose. “She just knows how to mix up the game and play different shots in different ways,” said Williams. “She’s just amazing.”
It was during that winning streak that the pair met for the first time, playing just four games at the Rogers Cup last month before Williams was forced to retire with a back injury.
While a Williams semi-final win never looked in doubt, Andreescu found herself in a thrilling tussle from the outset, at one point overturning a 5-2 second-set deficit to force a tiebreak.
In pictures | US Open 2019
“If someone had told me a year ago that I would be in the US Open final this year, I’d tell them they were crazy,” said Andreescu.
“It’s just surreal. I really don’t know what to say. It’s a dream come true playing Serena in the final of the US Open. It’s crazy.”
