Serena Williams
Defending champion Serena Williams and world number two Victoria Azarenka marched into a repeat of last year’s US Open final on Friday. Top seed Williams, chasing a 17th Grand Slam title, crushed China’s Li Na 6-0, 6-3 while Azarenka took an error-strewn 6-4, 6-2 win over Italian veteran Flavia Pennetta.
Williams, 31, seeking a fifth title in New York, will be the overwhelming favorite in Sunday’s final as she boasts a 12-3 career lead over her 24-year-old opponent.
However, not all is lost for Azarenka, who beat the American in the Cincinnati final just before the US Open.
“I just try hard and when I hear young and old voices in the crowd shouting ‘Go Serena, Go Serena’ it makes me feel so special,” said Williams.
“When I play Victoria we always have good matches. She’s a great player who lifts her game when it counts.”
Williams raced through the first set in just 29 minutes with three breaks of serve as Chinese fifth seed Li, playing in her first US Open semi-final, wilted under the American’s trademark barrage.
It was Williams’ fifth love-set of the tournament, having reached the semi-finals for the loss of just 13 games.
Li, the 2011 French Open champion, showed great resolve to make a fight of it in the second set, hitting back for 2-1 against a player who went into the match with an 8-1 career stranglehold over her.
Li saved six match points in the 13-minute eighth game of the second set but was finally beaten when a service return was dumped in the net, having hit just eight winners in the 87-minute tie.
World number two Azarenka reached her second successive US Open final with a win over Italian veteran Pennetta, the world number 83, in a match featuring 13 breaks of serve.
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