Just 40 minutes into her long-awaited first grand slam semi-final, Jessica Pegula was on the verge of a crushing defeat. Across the net, Karolína Muchová had produced a vision of perfectly crafted all-court tennis, ridiculous winners flying off her racket from all parts of the court, while Pegula simply could not find her range. She soon faced yet another break point while trailing 1-6, 0-2, her hopes of victory fading by the minute.

However, over the past few years, as Pegula has embedded herself at the top of the WTA tour, her success has been a reflection of her toughness. Pegula may not be the flashiest or most naturally gifted player, but she will make life extremely difficult for all adversaries. The American gave a spectacular exhibition of her resilience in the biggest match of her career so far, willing herself back into contention before holding on to reach her first grand slam final with a brilliant 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 comeback win over Muchová.

“It’s amazing. It’s a childhood dream. It’s what I wanted when I was a kid. It’s a lot of work, a lot of hard work put in. You couldn’t even imagine how much goes into it,” said Pegula. “It would mean the world to me obviously. I’m just happy to be in a final, but obviously I come here to want to win the title.”

In the final, Pegula, the sixth seed, will face an imperious Aryna Sabalenka, the second seed, who maintained her composure despite a late scare to defeat the 13th seed Emma Navarro 6-3, 7-6(2) and return to the US Open final for a second consecutive year. Sabalenka has now reached the final of the last four grand slam tournaments on hard courts, winning two Australian Open titles but losing last year’s decider in New York to Coco Gauff.

Having endured so many difficult quarter-final losses before her breakthrough this week, Pegula’s first semi-final was nearly a complete dud. Muchová was sublime in the first set, demonstrating her deep toolbox of shots with a constant stream of stunning volleys and delicate touches alongside her excellent serving and shotmaking from her forehand wing. But after Pegula found her feet in the match, Muchová’s excellent shots were soon counterbalanced by a steady stream of nervous unforced errors.

Although the highlight reel belonged to Muchová, Pegula rescued the match with a particularly remarkable shot. Down break point at 0-2 in the second set, she was dragged wide of the tramlines by a cross-court forehand approach shot from Muchová, to which she responded with a wristy, flicked defensive forehand that sped off her racket, a shot seen more frequently on the squash court. Pegula’s last-ditch passing shot had too much pace for Muchová, who sent her subsequent volley long. After she recovered to hold serve, Pegula began her long recovery: “I was thinking: ‘Alright, that was kind of lucky. You’re still in this,’” said Pegula.

As she worked her way back into the match, Pegula was solid as ever. She kept immaculate depth off both groundstrokes while taking the ball early and at pace, she piled pressure on Muchová’s second serve and served well herself. Pegula also showed the improvements she has made to her movement, constantly eliciting errors from Muchová with her defence and resourcefulness. Once the American had taken the momentum, she refused to let it go.

“It comes down to really small moments that flip momentum,” said Pegula. “I came out flat but she was playing unbelievable. She made me look like a beginner. I was about to burst into tears because it was embarrassing. She was destroying me. I was able to just hold on to that [0-2] game and I was able to find a way, find some adrenaline, find my legs. At the end of the second set into the third set, I started to play how I wanted to play. It took a while, but I don’t know how I turned that around, honestly.”

Earlier on Thursday night, Navarro produced an excellent performance in her first ever grand slam semi-final, but Sabalenka still completely overpowered her for much of the match, particularly in the decisive points. As she stepped up to serve for the match, though, Sabalenka balked.

From 5-3 up, Sabalenka found herself serving to stay in the set down 5-6. As she fought to close out the second set, the crowd erupting after every point she lost, Sabalenka had flashbacks to last year’s US Open final, where she had led Gauff by a set before spectacularly collapsing. This time, she learned her lesson

“Last year it was very tough experience, very tough lesson,” said Sabalenka. “Today in the match, I was, like, ‘No, no, no, Aryna, it’s not going to happen again. You have to control your emotions. You have to focus on yourself.’

“There was people supporting for me. I was trying to focus on them. I’m thinking, ‘Come on, there is so many people supporting you. There is your team in the box. There is your family. Just focus on yourself and fight for it.’”