Novak Djokovic came within three points of defeat before staging a stunning turnaround to defeat Roberto Bautista Agut in the Western & Southern Open semifinals.
After Bautista Agut served for a place in the final, Djokovic won 11 of the final 12 points to record a 4-6 6-4 7-6(0) win.
The result sets up a championship battle with Milos Raonic, who earlier on Friday in New York beat No.4 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6(5) 6-3.
The women’s final will feature two-time Grand Slam champions after Naomi Osaka and Victoria Azarenka came through their semifinals on Friday morning.
Osaka subdued Elise Mertens 6-2 7-6(5) while Azarenka recovered to defeat Johanna Konta 4-6 6-4 6-1.
Former world No.1 Azarenka, currently ranked 59th, will be playing for her first tournament title in more than four years.
Djokovic survives
The Serb entered his semifinal against Bautista Agut on a 24-match winning streak and with an unblemished 21-0 record in season 2020.
Yet despite leading the head-to-head 8-3 against the Spaniard, Bautista Agut had won their last three meetings on hard court – Djokovic’s best surface.
It looked like Bautista Agut would again prove the world No.1’s hard-court kryptonite when he recovered from 2-5 down in the third set to lead 6-5, as Djokovic continually sprayed shots.
Yet Djokovic, who had been hunching over and massaging his stomach at the back of the court between points, suddenly stopped missing.
He broke back to send the set to a tiebreak, where he completely shut Bautista Agut out.
It is unknown how Djokovic will recover for the final; the tournament’s communications team said that after feeling unwell on court, Djokovic’s condition had worsened, and that he had been advised to skip his post-match press conference.
Raonic, meanwhile, is through to his fourth Masters-level final, yet first since Indian Wells in 2016.
The Canadian continued his ruthless form on the quick hard courts of New York, facing just one break point during the match to beat Tsitsipas for the second time in 2020.
It marks a heartening return to form for the former world No.3, who has slipped to 30th after battling a series of injuries the past three years.
“I want to go to heights I haven't achieved yet and this (winning a Masters title) is a part of it," said Raonic, who is 0-3 in his previous Masters finals.
"I'm feeling good about my tennis. I took the time to train, to try to do things right, to get myself to a stage I haven't been before with my tennis, with my health.
“I hope it can keep paying off for me because I've put in the work and let's see what the future holds."
Blockbuster women’s final set
It has also been a resurgent week for Azarenka, who prior to the Western & Southern Open had not won a singles match since this time last year.
In a high-quality affair between two aggressive baseliners, the two women combined for 55 winners against just 26 errors.
Yet it was Azarenka who grew stronger as the match unfolded; she put away a volley to break for 3-1 in the final set, and didn’t drop another game, closing out the match with her seventh ace.
"It was just constant work that I kept putting in on a daily basis and perspective and your mentality. That's it. There is no magic thing," Azarenka explained.
"I know sometimes when you have results, people are looking for some magic trick that you're doing, but there is no magic. There's just work, consistent work."
Osaka, meanwhile, had created global headlines two days earlier when she announced she would not play her semifinal on Thursday in protest of ongoing racial injustice in the United States.
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Yet after the tournament followed her lead and announced it would pause all matches on Thursday, Osaka agreed to return when play resumed on Friday.
Showing impressive focus, she moved out to a 6-2 2-0 lead against the 14th seed, who responded by winning four straight games.
Undeterred, Osaka broke back for 4-4, before incredibly saving eight break points in a dramatic ninth game.
She went on to seal victory in just over two hours, improving her head-to-head record against Mertens to 2-1.
"This is my first tournament back from quarantine. So I'm happy that I'm in the finals,” Osaka said.
"Of course I feel extra pressure now that there are more eyes watching me," she added, acknowledging the headlines that were created by her statement of activism.
"I would just say there's a lot of pressure I put on myself, and of course I feel like now there is another reason for me to want to win, but I feel like I have to reel back all those emotions and just focus on what I train for.
"I feel like it's been kind of hectic, and I honestly haven't been able to get that much sleep yesterday. So I'm glad I was able to win today."