Canadian to US Open final

Photo: The Canadian Press

Bianca Andreescu reacts after defeating Belinda Bencic during the semifinals of the U.S. Open tennis championships Thursday.

Canada's Bianca Andreescu is on to the US Open final.

The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., continued her impressive season with a 7-6 (3), 7-5 win over Switzerland's Belinda Bencic to advance to the Grand Slam tournament's final.

Andreescu will face a familiar foe in 37-year-old legend Serena Williams.

The two played in last month's Rogers Cup where Williams had to retire in the final after only four games due to back spasms.

That handed Andreescu her second WTA title of the season and made her the first Canadian to win the tournament since Faye Urban of Windsor, Ont., beat Vancouver's Vicki Berner in 1969.

When Andreescu plays Williams on Saturday afternoon, the veteran player will be looking for her 24th major title.

Andreescu hopes to make some history of her own.

She is the first player to reach the women's singles final in her US Open main-draw debut since 17-year-old Venus Williams did it in 1997.

On Saturday afternoon, Andreescu will face an opponent who won her first US Open in 1999, as a 17-year-old — before Andreescu was born.

Andreescu defeated Bencic in the hotly contested semifinal that seemed destined to go three sets.

The win came immediately after Williams needed just an hour 10 minutes to dispatch No. 6 seed Elina Svitolina 6-3, 6-1 in the other semifinal.

"It's just surreal. Like, I really don't know what to say," said Andreescu. "It's a dream come true playing against Serena in the finals of the US Open. It's crazy. It's crazy."