Venus Williams won the last nine games in a dominant display as she crushed Israeli Shahar Peer 6-3, 6-0 to reach the final of the WTA Madrid Masters on Saturday, her fourth final from six events in 2010.
The American fourth seed — who will move to second on the WTA list behind her sister Serena on Monday — will be bidding for her 44th career title and third of the year when she faces unseeded Aravane Rezai of France who adavanced to the final when Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic quit after one set trailing 6-1.
Venus overcame a minor niggle through an opening break of serve by the 22nd-ranked Israeli, who upset fifth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova in the opening round a week ago.
“We exchanged a couple of breaks, she’s (Peer) a really tenacious player. She’s very talented, with a never-say-die spirit,” said Venus. — AFP