Serena Williams says she would not have believed after her first US Open title in 1999 that she would be playing in a record 10th final 20 years later.

Williams, 37, stormed into the Flushing Meadows final with a 6-3 6-1 win over Ukrainian fifth seed Elina Svitolina.

The American will bid for a record-equalling 24th major singles title on Saturday against Bianca Andreescu.

“I would have thought it was a sick joke,” Williams said of being in a final 20 years after her first.

“At 17, I thought for sure I’d be retired at 28, 29, living my life. I would definitely not have believed somebody saying that.”

Williams is aiming to equal Australian Margaret Court’s all-time record of Grand Slam singles titles.

The eighth seed has competed in three major finals since returning from giving birth to daughter Olympia in September 2017. She lost in the past two Wimbledon finals as well as a controversial US Open showpiece against Naomi Osaka in New York last year.

“I think it’s cool that I’ve been in more finals than I think anyone on tour after being pregnant. That’s kind of awesome,” she said.

“I look at it that way because it’s not easy to go through what I did and come back, and so fast.

“To keep playing, to also not be 20 years old, I’m pretty proud of myself.”

Williams is the favourite to beat 19-year-old Canadian Andreescu, who will be competing in her first Grand Slam final after beating Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic in the last four, particularly after the way in which she destroyed semi-final opponent Svitolina.

Williams hit 33 winners in a powerful display that Svitolina could not cope with, although Williams agreed with the Ukrainian’s assertion she could have played even better.

“I think it was solid. It definitely wasn’t my best tennis,” Williams said.

“It’s interesting that she knows that. She’s a super professional to know that.

“She probably could have played better as well. I definitely know I could have played better.”

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Serena Williams has another shot at winning a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam singles title after demolishing Elina Svitolina to reach the US Open final.

The American, 37, overpowered the Ukrainian fifth seed to win 6-3 6-1.

Williams, seeded eighth, is aiming for her first Grand Slam win since giving birth in September 2017.

The six-time champion will face Swiss Belinda Bencic or Canadian teenager Bianca Andreescu in Saturday’s final.

Bencic, 22, and 19-year-old Andreescu, both competing in their first major semi-final, meet for the right to face Williams later in Thursday’s night session in New York.

• Nadal ‘greatest fighter ever’ in tennis – men’s semi-finals preview

Williams underlines why she is favourite for victory

Williams is already considered by many as the greatest female player ever, yet will not be satisfied herself until she has levelled – and then overtaken – Australian Margaret Court’s total of all-time Grand Slam singles titles.

Following the difficult birth of daughter Olympia two years ago which almost cost Williams her life, she has reached consecutive Wimbledon finals – plus last year’s controversial US Open showpiece against Naomi Osaka – without capping what has already been a remarkable comeback with another major win.

For Williams to not go on and win a seventh US Open title – an Open era record in the women’s singles – would be a major shock on the evidence of her performances over the past two weeks.

Free of the knee injury which bothered her earlier this year, she is looking as sharp, powerful and clinical as she has in a long time.

That was illustrated by the ease with which she swatted aside Svitolina, the highest ranked player to reach the last eight at Flushing Meadows and competing in her second successive Grand Slam semi-final.

The 24-year-old Ukrainian has one of the most impenetrable returning games on the WTA Tour, yet even she could not keep Williams at bay.

After a slow start where Svitolina could conceivably have led 2-0, it was the American who broke at the first attempt and from that point it was all one-way traffic.

Williams found her range quickly and dominated with her powerful, precise hitting which resulted in 33 winners in a match which lasted only one hour and 10 minutes.

“The first two games were long games and I know how she can play – she is a good player,” Williams said.

“I wanted to not get off to a slow start and I wanted to hang in there.”

Svitolina was expected to provide a tougher test for Williams after clinically dispatching British number one Johanna Konta in their quarter-final on Wednesday.

With her fleet of foot and ability to return, she would have been hoping to withstand everything fired by Williams and then outlast her older opponent.

But even she could not cope with the pummelling produced by the American.

Svitolina’s inability to take any of six break points in the early part of the first set proved terminal to her hopes.

Helped by three unforced errors from Williams in the opening game, Svitolina created three break points which she could not convert and then saw her illustrious opponent fight back from a 0-40 deficit to break for a 2-0 lead after a hard-fought 15 minutes.

Another 0-40 lead disappeared as Williams held for a 4-1 lead and from that point Svitolina’s confidence sapped, along with her ability to push her opponent.

“I just wish I could have taken those opportunities,” said Svitolina, who won the season-ending WTA Tour Finals last year.

“It could be maybe a 2-2 or 3-3 instead of 0-3, which allows you to push to play more freely.”

In the second set she was not able to touch Williams’s serve, winning just three receiving points.

“She has unbelievable strength. She gives lots of power,” Svitolina said.

“There’s lots of power behind her shots all the time. That’s what makes her an unbelievable, legendary tennis player.”

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Britons Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski failed to reach the men’s doubles final, losing in two sets to top seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah.

The Columbian pair, who are Wimbledon champions, won 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (10-8) in just over two hours in New York.

There were no breaks of serve in the semi-final with Farah and Cabal converting their third match point.

They will play Spain’s Marcel Granollers and Argentina’s Horacio Zeballos in Friday’s final.

Zeballos and Granollers defeated Germans Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (7-5) in the other semi-final at Flushing Meadows.

Murray and Skupski, the 15th seeds, had two set points in the second-set tie-break against Cabal and Farah but could not convert either with the Colombians securing the win when Skupski netted a forehand smash.

“It was a close match, no breaks of serve, not many break points either,” Murray said. “I guess we just didn’t make enough good returns at the right time and ended up losing.

“It’s frustrating to be that close to the final, losing by such a close margin, but it’s been a good tournament.

“We played some good tennis, five good matches, so it bodes well for us going forward.”

The Britons are still a relatively new pairing, having teamed up after this year’s French Open. They lost in the first round at Wimbledon.

Scot Murray is already through to the mixed doubles final, where he and American Bethanie Mattek-Sands will face the top seeds – Chan Hao-ching, of Chinese Tapei, and New Zealander Michael Venus.

In the women’s doubles, Ashleigh Barty and Victoria Azarenka are through to the final after thrashing Aliaksandra Sasnovich and Viktoria Kuzmova 6-0 6-1.

They will play the winners of the semi-final between Elise Mertens and Aryna Sabalenka and Vania King and Caroline Dolehide.

Rafael Nadal is tennis”http://www.bbc.co.uk/”greatest fighter ever”, says his US Open semi-final opponent Matteo Berrettini.

Spaniard Nadal, 33, faces Italian 24th seed Berrettini on Friday for a place in the final at Flushing Meadows.

Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov plays Russia’s Daniil Medvedev in the first semi-final on Arthur Ashe Stadium from 21:00 BST.

“It’s unbelievable what he’s doing,” 23-year-old Berrettini said of 18-time Grand Slam champion Nadal.

“I admire him, the way he is on the court. His attitude is something that is… I think it’s close to perfection.

“I think he’s the greatest fighter ever in this sport.”

Three of Nadal’s 18 majors have been won in New York and he is a heavy favourite to close within one of Roger Federer’s record men’s tally of 20 Grand Slam singles titles.

He has dropped only one set in the tournament so far, against 2014 champion Marin Cilic in the fourth round.

Friday’s match will be the first meeting between Nadal and Berrettini, with the latter playing in his first Grand Slam semi-final.

Berrettini defeated 13th seed Gael Monfils to progress to the last four and Nadal – who last won the US Open title in 2017 – expects a challenge.

“He is having a great year. He’s in the semi-finals, winning a lot of good matches,” said the second seed.

“In the semi-finals of a Grand Slam match you can’t expect an easy opponent. You can’t expect an easy match.

“He’s serving huge, big forehands, moving well, and big confidence because he’s having a great year.”

Berrettini was just nine when Nadal won his first Grand Slam title – at Roland Garros in 2005 – and says his first memory of the Spaniard is from that year’s Italian Open.

Nadal beat Guillermo Coria in a five-set epic to win in Rome, but, back then, Berrettini had very different priorities.

“They were showing the match on the TV for free, but it was a channel that was about cartoons,” he said.

“I was young. These guys, I mean, six hours. Come on! I want to catch my cartoons.”

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Medvedev ‘working to be better’ after discipline issues

Before Nadal and Berrettini take to the court, fifth seed Medvedev faces unseeded Dimitrov in their first meeting since 2017.

Medvedev, 23, has been in the headlines for a variety of reasons in New York, facing jeers from the crowd after his third and fourth-round victories.

He was fined $9,000 (£7,400) for a visible obscenity and unsportsmanlike conduct during his third-round win over Feliciano Lopez.

“What I got I deserved. Usually I’m not like this, as I was in the third-round match. I’m not proud of it. I’m working to be better,” Medvedev said.

“Hopefully I can show the bright side of myself.”

Medvedev entered the US Open following a successful few weeks on the hard courts, winning in Cincinnati after reaching the finals of both the Rogers Cup and the Citi Open in Washington.

“I am surprised. That’s what I’ve been working for all my life. That’s where I’ve been going step by step,” he added.

“I was improving my rankings. But I am still really surprised with the way this last four weeks have been going.

“That’s what I’ve been working for. That’s what I’ve dreamed of. I’ve achieved some of what I’ve dreamt.”

‘I don’t want to go there anymore’ – Dimitrov enjoying return to form

Until now, this has been a year to forget for Dimitrov with a shoulder injury a big factor in the former world number three slipping to 78 in the rankings and forcing him to withdraw from four tournaments.

Coming into US Open, Dimitrov had lost seven of his previous eight matches. But his five-set victory over five-time US Open champion Roger Federer in the quarter-finals demonstrated a resurgence in form as the 28-year-old reached his first Grand Slam semi-final since the 2017 Australian Open.

“It was that low that I don’t even want to go there any more. It was just obviously injury, losing points, ranking. That’s the lowest point of any player,” said Dimitrov.

“I think the past six, seven months have been pretty rough for me. But I had somebody to lean on, my friends, my family. I kept on believing again in the work, the rehab I had to put behind my shoulder, the exercise, the practice, fixing up the racquet a little bit. There were so many things I had to adjust in such a small but big period of time.

“Next thing you know, you’re almost end of the year, you have a result like that. It’s pretty special to me.”

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Defending wheelchair doubles champions Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid reached the US Open final with a straight-sets win over the top seeds in New York.

Britain’s Hewett, 21, and Reid, 27, beat French pair Stephane Houdet and Nicolas Peifer 6-0 6-3.

They wrapped up the first set in just 23 minutes but needed until the eighth game of the second to go a break up.

Hewett and Reid will go for a third title at Flushing Meadows together having won in 2017 and 2018.

“We’ve put a lot of work in over the last three or four months to improve a few things in our game,” said Reid.

“It’s great when it all comes together.”

Hewett and Reid will play Gustavo Fernandez and Shingo Kunieda in Saturday’s final while both will start their singles campaigns on Friday.