Williams advances to China Open final
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-09-26 10:31

Serena Williams overcame problems with her serve to defeat Russia's Vera Zvonareva 6-2, 6-3 Saturday, advancing to the China Open final against U.S. Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Kuznetsova beat Wimbledon champion and Russian countrywoman Maria Sharapova 6-2, 6-2 in the other semifinal.

Serena Williams returns the ball during her semifinal match against Russian Vera Zvonareva at the China Open tennis tournament in Beijing Saturday Sept. 25, 2004. Williams won 6-2, 6-3 to advance to the final. [AP]

Williams, seeded first, is working her way back up the rankings after missing part of this year because of injuries. She sealed her victory with an ace, a rare quick point in a match dominated by baseline rallies.

"I think I played a decent match," Williams said. "I didn't want to lose serve today and I did, twice. I was a little disappointed with that."

"I never really lost focus," she added. "I never really thought I'd go down tonight."

Sharapova, seeded third, broke serve in the first game and led 2-0. But Kuznetsova, seeded second, won the next six games to take the set, plus the first game of the second set.

"When I had my chances, I used it," Kuznetsova said. "Going in, I expected it to be tight," she said, adding she was determined "not to give her any balls to hit."

In addition to her U.S. Open title, Kuznetsova won at Bali last week. Sharapova lauded her opponent for hitting hard, deep shots all over the court.

"When somebody plays with so much confidence, there's not much you can do," she said.

Sharapova acknowledged there are still flaws in her game, noting her conditioning and net play.

"Even though I won Wimbledon, there's a lot of things I have to work on," she said. "I'm only 17 and I have a lot of years ahead of me."

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