Serena Williams races into US Open final with easy victory

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/sep/06/serena-williams-wins-us-open-semi-final

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The world No1, Serena Williams, took no chances with the searing heat on Arthur Ashe Stadium court on Friday by racing to a 6-1, 6-3 rout of Ekaterina Makarova to reach the US Open women’s final.

Williams, winner of the last two US Opens, came out firing, striking the ball with ferocious force and dazzling accuracy and needed only 60 minutes to advance against the 17th seeded Russian.

The top seed’s opponent in the final will be the 10th-seeded former world No1 Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, who advanced in abrupt fashion when China’s Peng Shuai was forced to retire due to heat illness trailing 7-6, 4-3 after two hours four minutes on the court.

Williams, who failed to reach the quarter-finals in any of the year’s previous three majors, is aiming for her sixth US title and an 18th grand slam singles crown that would tie her with Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova for fourth on the all-time list.