The No. 2-seeded Sabalenka, a 26-year-old from Belarus who won each of the past two Australian Opens, came up a victory short of claiming the championship at Flushing Meadows a year ago, when she lost to Coco Gauff in front of a loud partisan crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
This time, Sabalenka got past another American opponent, the 13th-seeded Navarro - and never let the spectators play too much of a role until things got quite tight in the second set on Thursday.
Knowing she would be facing a player from the US in this semi-final, Sabalenka joked after her previous match she would try to sway them to her side by buying booze, saying: " Drinks on me tonight?"
Navarro did not fold in the second set, despite trailing for much of it, and she broke when Sabalenka served for the victory at 5-4.
But in the tiebreaker that followed, after Navarro led 2-0, Sabalenka took over, grabbing every point that remained.
"I was like, 'OK, Aryna, you have to stay focused. Stay in your thoughts. Focus on yourself,'" Sabalenka said. "And, yeah, I was thinking a lot."
Sabalenka will play for the trophy on Saturday against yet another American, No.6 Jessica Pegula or unseeded Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic.
The Pegula-Muchova semi-final was scheduled for later Thursday under the Ashe lights on a cool evening with only the slightest breeze.
"I'm ready to face whoever," Sabalenka said. "Lesson from last year learned. I really hope I'm going to do a little bit better than I did last year."
For Muchova, it will be her fourth appearance in the final four at a grand slam tournament, including runs to that stage in New York and to the final of the French Open last year.
Pegula had been 0-6 in grand slam quarter-finals until eliminating No.1 Iga Swiatek, a five-time major champion, in straight sets Wednesday night.
