US Open Tennis 2018 Results: Thursday Winners, Scores, Stats and Draw Update

The 2018 U.S. Open moved one step closer to naming a champion, as the women's semifinals took center stage in Queens, New York, at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Thursday night.

In the first matchup, six-time Open champ Serena Williams went head-to-head with Anastasija Sevastova, who had never made it this deep in a major tournament before. The nightcap featured two players in search of their first Open titles in Madison Keys and Naomi Osaka.

Below is a look at how Thursday's action played out.

2018 U.S. Open Semifinals Schedule/Results

No. 17 Serena Williams def. No. 19 Anastasija Sevastova, 6-3, 6-0

No. 14 Madison Keys vs. No. 20 Naomi Osaka, 6-2, 6-4

2018 U.S. Open Finals Schedule

No. 17 Serena Williams vs. No. 20 Naomi Osaka, Saturday, Sept. 8 at 4 p.m. ET

No. 17 Serena Williams def. No. 19 Anastasija Sevastova, 6-3, 6-0

For the fifth time in six matches at the 2018 U.S. Open, Williams has advanced to the next round with a straight-set victory.

This time, she took care of business against Sevastova in a tidy one hour, six minutes.

Williams used a 3-0 edge in aces and held Sevastova to an astounding 20 percent (3-of-15) on second-serve points to take the first set, 6-3.

That would be as competitive as it would get.

The 36-year-old American cruised to victory, sweeping the second set. She won 82 percent (9-of-11) of her first-serve points while holding her opponent to just 14 percent (1-of-7) on second-serve points. That combination was the recipe for a quick set.

She has dropped just one set in the tournament, which was the second set to Kaia Kanepi back in the fourth round.

Williams advances to her ninth career Open final, where she is 6-2 all-time, and her first since 2014. She has won her last three appearances in the final, last losing to Samantha Stosur in 2011.

In her first year since returning to the court after giving birth, Williams has advanced to two finals in the three Grand Slam tournaments she has participated in. She made it to the fourth round at the French Open in June and fell to Angelique Kerber in the Wimbledon finals in July.

Williams will play Naomi Osaka in the championship round Saturday.

No. 20 Naomi Osaka def. No. 14 Madison Keys, 6-2, 6-4

Madison Keys entered the night with a 3-0 career record against Naomi Osaka, but with a spot in the Open final on the line, Osaka found a way to get on the board.

After having lost six of their previous seven sets, Osaka grabbed the first set of this showdown with relative ease. Keys committed 18 unforced errors while winning just three out of nine of her second-serve points. Meanwhile, Osaka won 65 percent of her first serves and 55 percent of her second serves.

Add that all up and it's a 6-2 advantage for Osaka.

The second set was much tighter, as Keys was fighting to avoid elimination. Ultimately, though, Osaka was just too strong on this night:

Just like that, Osaka won more sets in this match than she had in their three previous meetings combined.

Per the tournament's official Twitter account, Osaka becomes the first Japanese woman to reach a Grand Slam singles final in the Open era. The loss prevents Keys from being the first player since Serena Williams (2013-14) to make back-to-back U.S. Open Finals, according to ESPN Stats and Info. 

Osaka will go for her first Grand Slam title against Williams, a 23-time major champ, in the final on Saturday.