Sloane Stephens was two points from defeat against Venus Williams in one U.S. Open semifinal before pulling out the victory.
Madison Keys faced no such test, overwhelming CoCo Vandeweghe in the other semifinal.
Now Stephens and Keys, a pair of pals in their early 20s, will face each other in the first Grand Slam title match for each — and the first all-American women’s final at Flushing Meadows since 2002.
Stephens summoned some of her best strokes when she needed them the most, steeling herself when so close to defeat and taking the last three games of a back-and-forth thriller, edging seven-time major champion Williams 6-1, 0-6, 7-5 on Thursday night.
The 15th-seeded Keys, who dominated No. 20 CoCo Vandeweghe 6-1, 6-2 in barely more than an hour, had her own recent health issue to deal with: She missed the first two months of this year after an offseason procedure on her left wrist, then needed another procedure in June because of pain in that arm.
“I think I played pretty well tonight,” Keys said in what amounts to quite an understatement.
