The American is into her first major final at age 21, having beaten the woman ranked No. 1, Ash Barty, to get there. Next Kenin will need to beat a former No. 1, Garbine Muguruza, to win the trophy.

Kenin saved a total of four set points to stop Barty’s bid to give Australia a long-awaited singles champion at Melbourne Park, pulling of a 7-6 (6), 7-5 victory on a stiflingly hot Thursday.

Muguruza fended off four set points in the opener of her semifinal and defeated No. 4 Simona Halep 7-6 (8), 7-5.