Two-time US Open champion Serena Williams coped better than Dinara Safina with the gusty winds at Flushing Meadows and reached the final of the tournament beating the Russian 6-3 6-2.
The fourth-seeded Williams survived having her serve broken in the first game to break Safina, the sixth seed, a total of five times in the match affected by bad weather. Williams made 21 unforced errors, while Safina, who was frustrated by the wind, committed 41.
Williams was playing her first US Open semifinal since winning the tournament in 2002.
In the final, which will decide who takes the number one ranking, she will face second seed Jelena Jankovic. The Serb advanced earlier in the day by beating Elena Dementieva.
Williams and Jankovic are tied at 3-3 in their meetings. The last time they played each other was in Miami, it was the final too, and Serena won 6-1 5-7 6-3.
The US Open final is scheduled for Saturday but bad weather is forecast, so we can expect the match to be postponed.
