Aryna Sabalenka believes her improved calmness was the key to her reaching a second consecutive US Open final. (Full Coverage | More Tennis News)
The Belarusian beat one of the home favourites Emma Navarro in straight sets on Thursday, needing a tie-break to edge past the in-form American.
Sabalenka, who finished as runner-up to Coco Gauff in the tournament last year, won 6-3 7-6 (7-2) in just over 90 minutes on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
After a relatively comfortable first set, Sabalenka looked to be cruising in the second too, until Navarro clawed her way in front after being 5-3 down.
However, the number two seed soon regained her footing to win the tie-break, and she credits the work she has put in on her mindset as the game changer.
"I worked really hard on my mindset on the match," Sabalenka said afterwards. "I think I made really huge improvement on that calmness, on those crucial moments.
"Even if things are not working well for me, I still keep doing the right things, and I'm staying in control. I'm really proud, I'm actually really proud of myself that I was able to get to the point when I'm in control of my emotions."
Data Debrief: Back-to-back
Sabalenka has dropped just one set throughout the US Open this year, and has put herself in the best position to win the competition for the first time.
The 26-year-old is the first woman to reach back-to-back US Open finals since Serena Williams in 2018 and 2019. She has now reached all four hard court grand slam finals in the last two years.
Since the Australian Open's switch from grass in 1988, Sabalenka is just the fifth player to reach the women's singles final at the Australian and US Open in consecutive seasons after Steffi Graf, Monica Seles, Martina Hingis and Victoria Azarenka.
