Third seed Novak Djokovic beat second seed Roger Federer in five-set thriller to advance into his second US Open final on Saturday.
Djokovic outmatched Federer 5-7, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2, 7-5 to snatch the five-set epic victory in three hours 43 minutes.
"I am very proud of myself. There are a lot of emotions involved. Of course, I was too exhausted to show them in the end, but it's a fantastic semifinal," said the 2007 US Open runner-up.
"I think I can compare the feeling with winning a major after I have won this kind of match. Still one match to come. I have to try to stay stable and calm as much as I can."
Federer made 65 unforced errors, 27 more than his Serbian opponent.
"I lost a couple more with match points this year, so they all pretty much feel the same.
They feel somewhat empty at the end because you have tried everything and maybe it was luck," said the 16 Grand Slam titlist.
"Maybe it was he (Djokovic) played well. Maybe you didn't pick the right shot."
Djokovic is through to his second New York final, and he will face world number one Rafael Nadal on Sunday.
The Spaniard beat Russia's Mikhail Youzhny 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 in the first semifinal on "Super Saturday".
Djokovic, 2007 runner-up, has been knocked out of the U.S. Open three straight years by Federer -- in the 2007 final and in the semifinals the past two years.
In the first set, the two seeds exchanged breaks to force a 5-5 draw before Federer notched three straight points, earning a triple break point in the 11th game to wrap up the set 7-5.
Djokovic rallied to break the second seed twice for an easy 6-1 win in the second set.
Federer repeated what he did in the first set to force a triple break point in the 12th game of third set, grabbing another 7-5 thanks to Djokovic's long stroke.
The Serbian answered with another double break in the fourth set, prolonging the match into decider with a 6-2 set victory.
The fifth set was carried out in a more intense and fluctuating way. The Serb forced four deuces in the seventh game as he took the advantage of a series of errors from Federer, but a backhand down net ball from Djokovic enabled the Swiss to go through.
It's a similiar case in the tenth game. Federer earned two match points and forced three deuces at Djokovic's serves but also proved fruitless as a backhand drive dropped the net from the second seed.
"You can't turn back time. Obviously I had to come up with a couple of good shots on match point, but I don't feel I have that many regrets in that regard. You feel like you left something out if you lose the match having had match point," said Federer.
"It was not the final, so I'm not as disappointed it would have been in the final. That's the only positive news to enjoy anything out of it."
Djokovic struck back in the 11th game as the 2008 Australian Open champion converted his sole break point capitalizing a long shot by Federer for a 6-5 lead and served out the match.
"It's one of those matches that you will remember for the rest of your life, not just because you won against one of the best players that ever played this game at that occasion, but as well coming back from match points down and under the circumstances playing good tennis and winning in the end, the thriller you know," said 23-year-old Djokovic.
Djokovic will challenge the 24-year-old Spaniard Nadal, who has won his last 20 Grand Slam matches and holds eight Grand Slam titles.
"It's finals of the Grand Slam. I've been in this situation before in 2007, so I'm more experienced than Rafael," said Djokovic.
"But it's gonna be definitely a tough one. Rafael is just playing fantastic tennis. He's gonna be very motivated to win this title because it's the only title he hasn't won in majors."
Nadal is the reigning Wimbledon and French Open champion who has never reached a US Open final. The world number one superstar needs a US Open title to complete the career Golden Slam, which is all four majors and an Olympic gold medal.
Djokovic, whose only Grand Slam title came at the 2008 Australian Open, seeks his 18th career crown. He had lost six of prior eight Grand Slam semifinals, including his past four in a row.