Under the watch of legends courtside such as Billie Jean King and Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Sabalenka dressed in red from head to toe, continued her red-hot form to launch 5-2 up on the American teenager.
No.4 seed Gauff has hailed her mental transformation in the past year or so, being able to erase disappointment sharply. The 19-year-old fended off set point at 4-5 with a scorching serve and was clawing back into the contest by absorbing Sabalenka's power play with her capabilities on the run.
The US Open champion found herself in front, when Sabalenka over twisted on a mid-court putaway forehand to relinquish a fourth successive game to Gauff.
Sabalenka, competing in her sixth consecutive Grand Slam semi-final, now excels at recalibrating, harnessing her firepower when dealing with simmering frustrations.
"Honestly in my head I just let that set go. No matter what the score was, I was just trying to do my best and fighting for it," revealed the 25-year-old.
"Even when the score was 6-5, 30-Love to her serve, I was just like, 'okay, I'm going to do my best, try to stay in this set and try to fight for this set.'"