NEW YORK _ Serena Williams has yet another date with history.
Williams, who got her first Grand Slam victory at the U.S. Open two decades ago, will be playing for a record-tying 24th major title on Saturday.
She earned that right with an overpowering 6-3, 6-1 win Thursday night over Ukrainian Elina Svitolina in the U.S. Open semifinals at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
It will mark Williams' 10th appearance in a U.S. Open final, beating the record of nine that she had shared with Chris Evert. The win Thursday was also her 101st at the U.S. Open, tying the record set by Evert.
"I don't think about the numbers. I just come out here and try to do what I can," Williams said.
Well, there's one number you can bet Williams is thinking big about. A win on Saturday would give her 24 Grand Slam titles, tying her with Margaret Court for the all-time record. Williams will play the winner of Thursday night's semifinal between Bianca Andreescu and Belinda Bencic. Neither has ever played in a Grand Slam final.
Williams has not won a Grand Slam event since taking time off for the birth of her daughter two years ago. She was a finalist at Wimbledon last year and this year. She was a finalist in the U.S. Open last year, but lost to Naomi Osaka in a controversial match that featured three code-of-conduct violations.
Williams, however, has looked determined to put the soap opera of last year's loss behind her.
Heading into Thursday night's matchup, Williams was looking unbeatable, having used just 44 minutes to streamroll past China's Qiang Wang in the quarterfinals. The No. 5 seeded Svitolina was easily her biggest challenge thus far in the tournament. Though Williams had beaten Svitolina in four of their previous five meetings, the 24-year-old had won their most recent one at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Williams didn't come out playing her strongest, but she won the big points.
Williams jumped to a 3-0 lead in the first set after Svitolina failed to capitalize on eight game points. Leading 5-3, Williams held serve to win the first set and permanently rattle Svitolina, who put up no resistance in the second set.
