NEW YORK, NY, USA -- The blistering run into the elite of women’s tennis continues unabated for Canadian teenager Bianca Andreescu, as the No.15 seed reached her first Grand Slam final at the US Open on Thursday night with a gritty 7-6(3), 7-5 victory over No.13 seed Belinda Bencic of Switzerland.

"I've always dreamt of this moment ever since I was a little kid," Andreescu said, in her post-match press conference. "But I don't think many people would have actually thought that it would become a reality."

"I just kept believing in myself," Andreescu continued. "But I think that moment after the match [point won], I was just in shock. At the same time, I fought really hard to get to this point, so I really think I deserve to be in the finals on Saturday."

Andreescu never held a break point in the first set, but won it in a tiebreak after saving all six break points against her, including one set point. The Canadian then fought back from a double-break down in the second set to reel off the last five games of the clash and claim victory after two hours and 12 minutes of play.

19-year-old Andreescu moves into the final on her US Open main-draw debut -- last year at this time, she was ranked outside the Top 200 and fell in the first round of qualifying in New York City. The rising star becomes the second Canadian to reach a Grand Slam final, following Eugenie Bouchard's run to the Wimbledon final in 2014.

Andreescu will now take on No.8 seed and six-time US Open titlist Serena Williams in Saturday’s championship match, after Williams dispatched No.5 seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine in straight sets in the earlier semifinal on Thursday night.

"I remember always telling my team I would have always wanted to play [Williams] right before she retires," said Andreescu. "I'm really looking forward to it. She's an amazing champion on and off the court. It's going to be fun."

"I remember watching her when I was about 10," Andreescu added. "I watched her win most of her Grand Slam titles. I think she's fighting for her 24th on Saturday. I'm sure she's going to bring her A-game. I'm going to try to bring my A-game, too. Hopefully, I guess, may the best player win."

In their only prior meeting, 23-time Grand Slam champion Williams and Andreescu faced off in the Rogers Cup final last month, but the match ended abruptly after Williams was forced to retire due to an upper back injury while trailing 3-1.

"I was about to play a champion of this sport in the finals of Rogers Cup, obviously I was nervous," said Andreescu, thinking back to her match in Toronto versus Williams. "But I think I channeled that nervousness into something else. When I stepped on the court, I didn't really think of who was on the other side. Having those four games against her I think is going to help me on Saturday."

Andreescu, who will make her Top 10 debut in the WTA Rankings on Monday, now becomes one of just seven women to make a Grand Slam final before their fifth appearance in a Grand Slam main draw. The Canadian teen, who is playing just her fourth Grand Slam main draw, is also the second teenager to reach a Grand Slam final this year, alongside Roland Garros runner-up Marketa Vondrousova.

The Canadian fired 40 winners to 38 unforced errors, while Bencic's 16 winners were negated by her 32 unforced errors. Andreescu converted four out of her seven break points while Bencic will rue her 3-for-13 break point conversion rate.

"It wasn't easy at all," Andreescu admitted, when reflecting on her battle with Bencic. "She hits the ball really hard and really flat I think every shot. My knees were to the ground. I think it wasn't too fun playing her. But that's what makes her such a great player.

"I'm just really glad with how I managed that. I tried to change the rhythm as much as possible. That was the goal right from the beginning of the match. But it wasn't easy. When someone is hitting flat and deep, it's hard to do that. But the main reason I won today I think is because I just kept fighting. I never let up."

A closely-contested first set seemed to be trending towards Bencic, as the Swiss used steady play coupled with brilliant down-the-line winners to give herself chances in numerous Andreescu service games. The Canadian fended off two break points with clutch serving to hold for 2-2, then erased three more break points with similarly aggressive play to eke out a hold for 3-3.

The all-court play from Andreescu finally earned her an easy hold for 4-4, but Bencic was unfazed, grinding out a hold for 5-4 before using an error-forcing approach shot to garner a set point in the next game. Andreescu did not blink, firing a forehand winner down the line to erase that chance, and clocked an ace to close out the game for 5-5, having saved six break points thus far.

After an ace to hold for 6-6, Andreescu zipped to a 5-0 lead in the tiebreak, with her confident play helped along by the Swiss player’s miscues. Bencic pulled off three points in a row, reaching 5-3 after a beautiful backhand winner down the line, but a netted forehand gave Andreescu three set points at 6-3. After another Bencic miss ended a big-hitting rally, Andreescu had eked out the one-set lead.

After all of those missed chances in the first set, Bencic finally broke through in the second set, claiming an immediate break of service in the very first game. The Swiss player kept rolling, extending her lead with a second break to reach 4-1.  Andreescu then earned her first break of the match in the next game with a forehand crosscourt winner, but the Canadian dropped serve from 40-15 up to hand Bencic a 5-2 lead. 

Having not come close in her first attempt to serve out the match, Bencic had a second chance to tie the tilt at one set all at 5-4. However, Andreescu fearlessly blasted an error-forcing backhand to bring up break point in that game, where Bencic double faulted, and suddenly the set was dead-even at 5-5. Andreescu grabbed this opportunity with gusto, holding for 6-5 and putting the pressure firmly on Bencic.

The Canadian powered her way to two match points in that game before Bencic maneuvered her way out of that situation, and was a point away from another tiebreak. But back-to-back forehand errors by the Swiss gave Andreescu a third match point, and the teenager polished off the match with a fiery forehand return that Bencic put back into the net.