Victoria Azarenka admitted she had to get angry to send Kim Clijsters packing from the 2012 Australian Open.
The Belarusian booked her place in the final of the Melbourne showpiece against 2008 winner Maria Sharapova with a gutsy 6-4 1-6 6-3 win over the defending champion.
The 22-year-old right-hander will become the new women's world number one if she beats three-time Grand Slam champion Sharapova on Saturday.
"She was really dominating (in the second set)," said Azarenka. "She made me run so much, I felt I was running a marathon out there.
"I just tried to start to be more aggressive and tried to play my game and, yeah, start from the beginning.
"I have one more set to go. I have another, I don't know, hour, 30 minutes, 40 minutes to make a difference. That was my mental approach."
Third seed Azarenka, who hails from Minsk, is bidding to win her first Grand Slam and said she was delighted to be trading blows with the game's elite.
She added: "Before, I think you all thought I was a mental case but I was just young and emotional.
"But I'm really glad the way I fought. That's the thing I'm most proud of, I fought for every ball."