Madison Keys beats Coco Vandeweghe 6-1 6-2 to reach final
Keys will face Sloane Stephens in all-American final
Both players through to first Grand Slam final
Stephens beats Venus Williams 6-1 0-6 7-5 in first semi-final
Williams 1-1 *Stephens
Now Sloane Stephens knows she's in a semi-final.
Venus Williams is beginning to find her length. How can the younger American respond? With a dash to the net and a well-timed volley to boot. That'll settle the nerves.
A thumping forehand from Stephens ricochets off the net though, and we have deuce.
Williams 1-1 *Stephens
Russell Fuller
BBC tennis correspondent at Flushing Meadows
Both players are looking very confident, if not relaxed on such a big stage. They are striking the ball cleanly off the strings.
Williams 1-1 *Stephens
There's the first ripple of applause from the Arthur Ashe crowd. A Williams point on the board is followed by a superb deep forehand that catches the edge of the white for another.
The ninth seed races back to 40-30, and then gladly watches Stephens club a ball towards the New York sunset off the frame.
Image source, Getty Images*Williams 0-1 Stephens
A slow start from the two-time champ. All the grit and grunt is there, the accuracy not so much.
Venus glances at her racquet as another backhand nails the net... that's normally my get-out clause too. She's 0-30 down.
*Williams 0-1 Stephens
That's the first double fault of the match from Stephens. It came after a cracking opening serve, too.
It gets Venus on the board, but that's all the veteran can muster as Stephens holds.
Image source, Getty ImagesWilliams 0-0 Stephens
We're under way.
It's Sloane Stephens to serve.
Williams v Stephens
Image source, .Williams v Stephens
"Two minutes, ladies..." is the call.
Sloane Stephens goes through her final serve routine, Venus Williams follows suit.
Image source, EPAWilliams v Stephens
The players have offered their usual soundbites in the corridor before walking out on to court.
Sloane Stephens: "The semi-finals of a Slam is complete neutraliser, I'm just going to go out, have fun and be myself."
Venus Williams: "Every match is different. I'm just going to go out there and play my best on each and every point."
Williams v Stephens
Image source, Getty ImagesThat's more matches won at the US Open by Venus Williams than all of the other women's semi-finalists combined.
The 37-year-old is bidding to reach her third Grand Slam final of 2017. She last made three finals in a year in 2002, but lost them all... to her sister.
That was also the last time we saw an all-American final at the US Open. We're guaranteed one this year.
Williams v Stephens
Image source, Getty ImagesVenus Williams and Sloane Stephens have only met once before in a Grand Slam.
That was in the French Open at Roland Garros in 2015, when the younger American came out on top in a straight-set 7-6 (7-5) 6-1 victory.
Williams v Stephens
Jeff Tarango
Former professional tennis player on 5 live sports extra at Flushing Meadows
I think we will have a split crowd in the first 10 or 15 minutes and then I think that they will get behind Venus. She is the leader of the pack when it comes to the American women, offering support, not just to the younger generation, but to her younger sister Serena
Piers Newbery
BBC Sport at Flushing Meadows
Bearing in mind the worrying weather issues elsewhere in the US, the odd bit of rain at a tennis tournament is nothing to be concerned about, but we have Grand Slam semi-finals ahead of us tonight and the news from New York is that the sun is shining and the roof on Arthur Ashe Stadium will be open.
Image source, BBC SportWilliams v Stephens
Image source, .Sloane Stephens may have great respect for Venus Williams, but the 24-year-old says the US Open semi-final is "anybody's game".
"Making the semi-finals of a Slam is a complete neutraliser, anybody's game. I just have to focus on myself," she added.
Meanwhile, Williams, 37, is the oldest semi-finalist at any Grand Slam since Martina Navratilova at Wimbledon in 1994.
"It's such a wonderful feeling, because you put in so much work to be able to succeed at these moments," she said.
"It has been a great two weeks for American tennis, seeing all the American players in the draw and all of them advancing so deep and competing so well."
Williams v Stephens
Image source, Getty ImagesArthur Ashe won the US Open in 1968, the Australian Open in 1970 and Wimbledon in 1975
Arthur Ashe became the first black man to win a Grand Slam when he triumphed at the 1968 US Open and Venus Williams and Sloane Stephens will face each other on the court named after the three-time major winner.
Williams first played on this court in the year it debuted, reaching the US Open final at her first attempt in 1997 before losing to Martina Hingis.
"He's a total legend," she said of Ashe, who died in 1993.
"He played during a time where he couldn't just focus on the tennis. I'm very blessed to be able to focus on my game. But he had to fight because of the colour of his skin.
"It was a completely different time. So I can't even imagine the pressure he was under. To come out of it with grace, as a champion, it's incredible."
Image source, Getty ImagesVenus Williams was beaten 6-0 6-4 by Martina Hingis in the 1997 final
Piers Newbery
BBC Sport at Flushing Meadows
The first person I saw this morning when I stepped out onto Third Avenue on my way to brunch - it's what we do here - was Madison Keys, relaxed and unrecognised under her baseball cap, probably heading somewhere far hipper for her avocado on toast.
Flushing Meadows is in Queens, but the majority of players, officials and media stay in Manhattan, making Midtown a goldmine for random tennis spots. Whether it's Tomas Berdych taking a stroll, umpire Pascal Maria heading back to his hotel, Ryan Harrison and his wife getting on the bus, or Naomi Broady checking out Fifth Avenue, there's a tennis type around every corner.
Image source, .Williams v Stephens
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Sloane Stephens better believe it.
The 24-year-old is into her first ever US Open semi-final, her best performance in a Grand Slam since the Australian Open in 2013.
Should she overcome Venus Williams, 13 years her senior, it will be new ground for the world number 83.
To get this far is already some feat. At the beginning of August, following an 11-month absence with a foot injury, Stephens had dropped to 957 in the world.
Come Monday, when the new WTA rankings are released, she will be back in top 35 - jumping more than 900 spots in a little over a month.
The 24-year-old is also guaranteed a decent pay day in New York. She'll leave with at least $920,000, almost triple her earnings so far this year.
Williams v Stephens
Image source, Getty ImagesIt's 16 years since Venus Williams last etched her name on the US Open trophy.
The 37-year-old has been unable to add to her back-to-back wins in 2000 and 2001, but enters the semi-finals as favourite and the top-ranked player left in the competition.
The seven-time Grand Slam champion may not have won a major since 2008, but she is the only woman in the final four to have the experience of doing so.
Having battled past two-time Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova in the quarter-finals, is Venus closing in on Grand Slam number eight?
Image source, Getty ImagesAnd then there were four.
Has Flushing Meadows quietly ushered in a new era of US dominance in the women's game?
The first all-American semi-final line-up since 1981 would suggest so. And that's without six-time US Open champion Serena Williams in the mix.
Venus Williams, the only semi-finalist to rank inside the world's top 10, is first up tonight when she faces Sloane Stephens at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Madison Keys and Coco Vandeweghe complete the home cast, much to the delight of the New York crowd.