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NEW YORK: Two-time winner Serena Williams advanced to her first US Open final in six years, breezing past Russian Dinara Safina 6-3, 6-2 at the Arthur Ashe Stadium on Friday.
"I am finally back in the finals," Williams said. "An American back in the finals. I am really excited."
Williams set up a finals showdown with world No. 2 Jelena Jankovic of Serbia, who beat Russian Elena Dementieva 6-4, 6-4 earlier in the day.
There will be plenty on the line in the final, which is scheduled for Saturday but could be moved to Sunday if an expected storm blows into the New York area.
Not only will they be gunning for the 1.5 million dollars in first place prize money but the winner will also surpass Ana Ivanovic as world number one.
Williams kept her game plan simple, converting 5-of-10 break-point opportunities and making just 21 unforced errors on an afternoon where the wind howled through the main stadium court.
At one point in the match, Safina had her serve broken four consecutive times.
She made 41 unforced errors and converted just 2-of-6 break-point opportunities in the 88-minute match.
Serena rallied from having her serve broken on her opening game of the match to take the first set by winning the final three games.
A win in the final major championship of the year would have put the perfect exclamation point on Safina's brilliant season.
Her big brother, Marat Safin, won his first Grand Slam title at the 2000 US Open and she was hoping to follow in his footsteps.
Safina has advanced to the final of six of her past eight tournaments, including winning the silver medal at the Beijing Olympics and reaching the final of the French Open.
- AFP/so
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