NEW YORK -- Madison Keys was one of four American women in the US Open semifinals a year ago, when she was the runner-up.
She's the only member of that quartet who made it back to that round.
Still in search of her first Grand Slam title, the 14th-seeded Keys reached her third semifinal in the past five majors by using her big-strike game built on serves and forehands to overpower No. 30 Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain 6-4, 6-3 at Flushing Meadows on Wednesday night.
Keys, who is 23, thinks she is more equipped than ever to deal with important moments on important stages.
"I've gotten a lot better managing my emotions once it gets to this part and knowing that everything is going to be probably more amped up,'' she said. "And not shying away from those, but just really being honest about it and talking about it.''
Keys won all 10 of her service games, saving the only two break points she faced. One came in the last game as she served for the victory, but she erased it with a forehand winner, part of a 22-10 edge in that category.
It all took less than 1 1/2 hours against Suarez Navarro, who eliminated five-time major champion Maria Sharapova in straight sets in her previous match but has never made it to the semifinals at a major.
Keys has made it this far in a major for the fourth time in her career.
In 2017, she was beaten by Sloane Stephens in the U.S. Open final; Venus Williams and CoCo Vandeweghe were the other semifinalists, making it the first time in 36 years that the last four women in New York represented the host country.
This time, Keys will play No. 20 Naomi Osaka on Thursday night for a chance to reach the final again. The other women's semifinal is 23-time major champion Serena Williams against No. 19 Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia.
Osaka became the first Japanese woman in 22 years to reach a Grand Slam semifinal, routing Lesia Tsurenko 6-1, 6-1 earlier Wednesday.
Osaka continued what has been a largely dominant run through the draw by winning in just 57 minutes, the third time in her five matches she didn't even have to play an hour.
She raced to a 3-0 lead in the first set and then 4-0 in the second against the shaky Tsurenko, who finished with more unforced errors than points in her first major quarterfinal.
"Well, it definitely means a lot for me, and I always thought if I were to win a Grand Slam, the first one I'd want to win is the US Open, because I have grown up here and, like, then my grandparents can come and watch," Osaka said. "I think it would be really cool."
Osaka, who was born in Japan but moved to the U.S. at age 3, was followed at Arthur Ashe Stadium by Kei Nishikori, who beat Marin Cilic in a men's quarterfinal.
Together, Osaka and Nishikori are the first Japanese woman and man to reach the semifinals of the same Grand Slam.
Only once in the professional era that began in 1968 had Japan had a men's and women's player in the quarterfinals at the same tournament. That was at Wimbledon in 1995, and both Kimiko Date and Shuzo Matsuoka lost in that round.
The 20-year-old Osaka said she was nervous, claiming to be "freaking out inside" -- though it certainly never showed.
"Just like my entire body was shaking, so I'm really glad I was able to play well today," she said.
Osaka won 59 points to just 28 for the unseeded Tsurenko, who knocked off No. 2 seed Caroline Wozniacki in the second round.
But after laboring through the heat in her previous match, Tsurenko said she was sick Wednesday, waking up with a sore throat and not breathing well.
"Unfortunately during this tournament I had many issues with my health, and today was not my day obviously. I was not feeling well," she said.
Osaka had consecutive 50-minute matches earlier in the tournament, including a 6-0, 6-0 thrashing of Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the third round.
She was finally tested in the round of 16, edging past No. 26 Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 in a little more than two hours, but she was back in complete control against Tsurenko, winning 20 of 22 points (91 percent) on her first serve.
Tsurenko labored in the heat during her fourth-round victory over Marketa Vondrousova, having her temperature and blood checked during a medical timeout in the first set and nearly quitting when she trailed early in the second. She recovered to win in three sets, with her opponent accusing her after the match of acting.
It was another hot afternoon Wednesday, with temperatures in the high 80s but feeling about 10 degrees hotter with the humidity.
Tsurenko didn't appear bothered by the conditions, but whether it was her health or just first-time jitters, she was off from the minute she stepped onto the court at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
She pushed some balls a few feet past the baseline, often failing to make Osaka do anything special to win a point, and finishing with 31 unforced errors.
"I hate matches like this," Tsurenko said. "I didn't want to show this kind of game in front of this big crowd, but unfortunately I'm just not able to play now."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.