Madrid champion Kostyuk arrived on court boosted by a 16-match winning streak on clay, whereas Rome champion Svitolina was riding a wave of 10 consecutive clay-court victories. Something had to give and it was fitting this duel went to a deciding set.

After splitting the first two chapters, the decider began with five successive breaks of serve as Kostyuk went into the sitdown with a 3-2 lead.

From that moment the 23-year-old put her foot to the metal to rattle through another three games and into the final four.

As she began to address the crowd, her emotions came to the surface and once she'd composed herself she dedicated the victory to her country.

"I want to start with this historical match with Elina. We had a very difficult night again in Ukraine, especially in Kyiv, so many people dead. I want to give this match to Ukrainian people and to their resilience,” Kostyuk said.

"Then of course I want to point out Elina and her incredible impact on Ukrainian tennis, on Ukrainians, on me and everyone who is watching. She's such an incredible fighter.

“I’m so happy to be through to the semifinals but I want to thank Elina for this incredible match.”

Kostyuk will be back on Thursday when she will meet No.8 seed Mirra Andreeva to vie for a spot in Saturday’s trophy showdown. One of them will reach a major final for the first time in their career.

"I still think it's very far away. I still have two matches to play. Mirra in the semifinals. I'm very excited for Thursday," added Kostyuk, who celebrated her title in Madrid last month with a back flip on the court.

"In Madrid I practised it one day before the final! I don't think I need to practice, I did a month ago. But I made a promise I'd only do it one more time, when I win a Grand Slam."