There is a nice symmetry in the way Serena Williams has returned to the US Open final at the age of 37, exactly 20 years after she triumphed over Martina Hingis in her first major showpiece on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Because, just as Williams's emergence heralded a new era of mighty serving and all-court athleticism, so her teenage challenger on Saturday night – 19-year-old Canadian Bianca Andreescu – feels like a game-changer in her own right.
This new generation has already thrown up some superb stories, including Naomi Osaka's capture of the last two hard-court slams, Ashleigh Barty's transformation from wallflower to major champion and Coco Gauff's sudden escalation into the biggest draw-card in the game.
But Andreescu is a different animal entirely. In a year where the first three slams have been won by introverts (Osaka, Barty and Simona Halep), she has a ferocity about her, both in her competitive zeal and her varied and muscular game-style.
We would be talking more about her precociousness were it not for the extraordinary Gauff – who is still just 15 and already threatening to reach the second week of slams. But even so, Andreescu only turned 19 in June, and thus must have been conceived at around the time that Williams was bundling the underpowered Hingis out of her path in that first US Open final.
Just as Williams represented a different style of tennis, bringing the curtain down on a time of slice backhands and delicate net-play, so Andreescu has the feel of a revolutionary in the way she shapes her groundstrokes.
Tennis players usually strike a balance between hitting the ball quickly and imparting it with heavy topspin. Most lean one way or the other, but Andreescu manages to do both, almost defying the physics of the game. Even if she is on the short side for the tour, standing 5ft 7in, she makes up for it with a feline explosivity. And her willpower is equally startling.
Against Belinda Bencic on Thursday night, Andreescu was trailing 5-2 in the second set – a double-break down – when she switched on the afterburners that have brought her 23 straight victories in completed matches. Her extra attitude carried her through five straight games as she completed her 7-6, 7-5 win.
It has been a remarkable sequence. Admittedly, there was an anomaly in Miami in late March, when Andreescu was forced to pull out midway through her fourth-round match because of a shoulder injury. (This would later rule her out of both the French Open and Wimbledon.) But the last person to actually convert a match point against her was Sofia Kenin of the USA, all the way back on March 1.
Williams and Andreescu also contested the final of the Rogers Cup in Toronto three weeks ago – another match that didn't go the distance. Williams retired with a back injury at 3-1 down in the first set, and sat weeping on her chair, whereupon Andreescu showed her outgoing personality by rushing round the net to offer consolation.
"She really knows how to mix up the game and play different shots in different ways," said Williams of Andreescu. "She serves well, moves well, has a ton of power. Above all, I just like her as a person. She's amazing."
If Andreescu showed her fire against Bencic, Williams never really needed to in her own semi-final against Elina Svitolina, who faded after failing to convert six break points in the first few games. This was a statement victory, by a 6-3, 6-1 scoreline, which occupied only 70 minutes.
The upshot was that, for the fourth time in the last 14 months, Williams stands within a single victory of a 24th major title – which could carry her level with Margaret Court's record and end any real debate about her status as the greatest champion of all.
Watching Williams's semi-final, Amazon Prime commentator Martina Navratilova suggested that this was "the best I've seen her play in a long, long time". But after a series of disappointments in major finals, it will be interesting to see how the home favourite responds to the fans' expectations.
As Andreescu acknowledged on Friday night, "For sure, the crowd's going to be for Serena. I just have to deal with that."
Venus Williams in Auckland in Janury – and beaten the lot.' data-reactid="85">At least the pattern of her short career suggests that she will rise to the occasion. Andreescu has played seven top-ten players – the first one being Serena's sister Venus Williams in Auckland in Janury – and beaten the lot.
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