Williams Unstoppable for Radwanska

Serena Williams underlined the difference in class and power between her and the rest of the women’s field with a 6-0, 6-4 demolition of fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska on Thursday to reach her seventh Australian Open final.

Every time the American has made the final at Melbourne Park she has gone on to win the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup.

Victory in Saturday’s final against the seventh seed Angelique Kerber would give her a 22nd grand slam title, moving her to a tie with Steffi Graf for the most in the Open era.

Williams romped through the first set in just 20 minutes before Radwanska showed some fight in the second but she was unable to stop the momentum of the American, who clinched her place in the final in 64 minutes.

“I’m really excited to be in another final. It blows my mind right now,” Williams said in a courtside interview. “I just feel like I’m being the best I can and I can’t believe I’m in another final.

“She started really well in the second set and making some great shots and hitting it deep and I just thought that I had to be aggressive.”

Williams began in ominous fashion breaking the Pole’s serve in the first game with Radwanska’s lack of power highlighted by the blistering nature of the American’s returns.

Radwanska’s fastest serve in the first game reached just 140 kph. Williams was returning the ball at over 130.

The fourth seed appeared resigned to defeat in the first set by the fourth game. She barely got a backhand return to a Williams serve then stood, with slumping shoulders, and watched as the 34-year-old put the overhead smash away.

Williams cleaned up the first set in just 20 minutes before Radwanska elicited the largest cheer of the match at that time when she held serve in the first game of the second set, avoiding an embarrassing potential double bagel 6-0, 6-0 score.

The crowd on Rod Laver Arena, which had its roof closed due to heavy rain in Melbourne, however managed to almost open it in the sixth game with a decibel-rising roar of support for Radwanska when she broke Williams to level it at 3-3.

Williams, however, broke again in the ninth game and then served out with three aces to seal a match in which she belted 42 winners to Radwanska’s four.

Radwanska, who had been bidding to reach her second grand slam final after Wimbledon in 2012, also heavily lost her only other semi-final appearance at Melbourne Park when she was beaten 6-1, 6-2 by Dominika Cibulkova in 2014.

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Serena Starts as Istanbul Favourite

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Serena Williams starts a strong favourite to win a second successive WTA Championships as the end-of-season finale begins in Istanbul on Tuesday.

The world number one has only lost four matches and won 10 titles this season, more than any other year of her career.

She will face Petra Kvitova, Agnieszka Radwanska and Angelique Kerber in the group stages in Turkey.

"It's a tough group," Williams said. "That's the thing about this event, you have to be ready from the first match."

Eight of the top nine in the world rankings - world number three Maria Sharapova is injured - are split into two groups of four, with the top two in each qualifying for the semi-finals.

Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka, who has beaten Williams twice this year, heads the other group, which includes China's Li Na, Sara Errani of Italy and Serb Jelena Jankovic.

Three group matches will be played on each of the first four days.

Tuesday's opening day sees Belarusian Azarenka start against Errani (15:00 BST) before Williams faces Germany's Kerber (17:00 BST) and Radwanska of Poland plays the Czech Republic's Kvitova (19:00 BST).

Williams, 32, won the French Open and US Open this year to take her total of Grand Slam titles to 17, one short of Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert and five behind Steffi Graf's Open era record of 22.

"I never thought I would have one of my best years this year, and now there is an opportunity to do even better," she added.

"I'm still looking to improve and...I have a lot of room for improvement. I am interested for next year to take my game to a new level, which I think I can do.

"It's going to be even tough for me to get to 18 [ Grand Slams]. Obviously that's my goal, but I take it one match at a time."

The American is aiming to become the first player to defend a WTA Championships crown since Justine Henin in 2007. If she achieves the feat, it would be her fourth title overall.

While Kvitova, who won in 2011, is a dangerous opponent on a fast indoor surface, neither she nor Radwanska has ever beaten Williams, while Kerber can boast one victory from their three previous meetings.

Jankovic is the only player to qualify this year who was not in the field 12 months ago. The Serb is back among the top eight of the season for the first time since 2010.

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Radwanska Sees Serena Work for Fifth

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Serena Williams claimed her fifth Wimbledon title with a hard-fought 6-1 5-7 6-2 victory over Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska on Centre Court.

The sixth-seeded American's success means she has now drawn level with sister Venus and British pair Lottie Dod and Charlotte Cooper Sterry, who also has five victories at the All England Club.

Williams looked set to ease past Radwanska, who was making her first grand slam final appearance, when she breezed through the opening set.

Yet Radwanska offered sterner resistance in the second, finally breaking her opponent's serve to level at 4-4 before another in the 12th levelled matters.

However, her efforts to get back on terms seemed to take their toll in the decider, allowing her rival to take control again, Williams reaching a record 102 aces in the tournament as she claimed her 14th grand slam singles crown.

The result also means Victoria Azarenka, who lost in the semi-finals at SW19 to the eventual champion, now reclaims the world number one spot.

Radwanska had been severely affected by an upper respiratory illness over the last few days and it showed at the start of the match.

The 23-year-old, the first Pole to reach a Grand Slam final for 73 years might have wished she was back in her sick bed as Williams scorched her way to the first set dropping only a single game and breaking her opponent twice.

Williams converted her third break point for a 2-0 lead before she broke again in the fourth game and, although sympathetic cheers echoed around Centre Court when Radwanska finally got on the scoreboard, it wasn't long before Williams closed out the set in just 36 minutes.

However, the dark clouds soon closed in on Centre Court and a rain delay of 25 minutes offered Radwanska a chance to regroup before the start of the second set.

It seemed that any hopes of a revival had been snuffed out when Serena broke to love in the third game of the second set.

But Radwanska kept fighting and, finally unfurled a string of subtle shots which have proved so effective over the last fortnight and she broke twice to level the match.

The Pole's clever changes of pace and nerves seemed to get the better of Williams as she surrendered the set with a succession of errors at 5-6.

Williams was now being forced to battle for every point and she looked in trouble at 1-2 in the final set, but she regained her composure as she thumped down four successive aces to hold serve and stepped up the power to land the decisive break for a 3-2 lead.

Williams, contesting her seventh Wimbledon singles final, bagged another break in the fifth game when Radwanska sent a backhand long and again two games later with a delicate drop-shot.

She closed out the match with backhand winner and fell backwards onto the Centre Court turf in celebration.

Williams pockets a cheque for £1.15milllion, is the first woman over 30 to win Wimbledon since Martina Navratilova in 1990.

The new world no.4 is now sixth on the list of most Grand Slam singles titles - four away from Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert (18), eight away from Steffi Graf (22) and 10 away from Australian, Margaret Court (24).

She also becomes the seventh different winner of a grand slam tournament since Kim Clijsters won the U.S Open in 2010 and Australian Open at the start of 2011.

Ill Radwanska Still Ready for Serena

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Agnieszka Radwanska will become world number one if she overcomes respiratory illness and beats Serena Williams in the Wimbledon women's final.

The 23-year-old beat Angelique Kerber 6-3 6-4 to reach her first - and Poland's first - Grand Slam final.

“Agnieszka has had a better year than I have. She's been way more consistent than me”Serena Williams

But Radwanska was forced to pull out of her pre-match news conference because of a severe cough.

Serena has beaten Radwanska both times they have met, the last being in the 2008 quarter-finals at Wimbledon.

The pair's build-up to the match could not be more different.

While Radwanska was laid low by illness after ending Poland's 75-year wait for a Wimbledon singles finalist, Williams teamed up with sister Venus to book a place in the women's doubles final.

Williams, a Centre Court veteran who has rediscovered her best form, blasted a women's Wimbledon record of 24 aces past Victoria Azarenka in a destructive singles semi-final performance she won 6-3 7-6 (8-6).

"I will do whatever it takes to make sure I'm ready to play the best I can," said Radwanska.

"She's playing amazing tennis at the moment. I don't really have much to lose, so I'm going to try my best and we'll see," added the third seed.

Nonetheless, sixth seed Williams has been made overwhelming favourite.

But the 30-year-old four-time Wimbledon champion insists she will not underestimate her rival.

"I have to go out there and win," said the American.

"Agnieszka has had a better year than I have. She's been way more consistent than me. She's done really well, so she's ranked higher than me. She deserves to be.

"I have to go out there and fight for this.

"This is by no means going to be easy. Never, ever do I underestimate any opponent. She's out there to try to do her best."

Radwanska Wins Sony Ericsson

Maria Sharapova lost her serve in the final game of each set Saturday and again fell short in a bid for her first Sony Ericsson Open title, losing to Agnieszka Radwanska 7-5, 6-4.

Sharapova, a three-time Grand Slam champion, fell to 0-4 in Key Biscayne finals. She was also the runner-up in 2005, 2006 and last year.

Radwanska, ranked a career-best No. 4, earned her ninth career title and fourth since last summer. She's 0-4 in 2012 against top-ranked Victoria Azarenka and 26-0 against everyone else.

The match was 72 minutes old before Radwanska hit her first baseline winner. She was content to play steadily and extend rallies until the more aggressive Sharapova would make a mistake.

Sharapova finished with 45 unforced errors, many from the backhand side. Radwanska committed only 10 unforced errors and erased all three break points she faced.

On a sunny, 85-degree afternoon, the South Florida crowd was divided in its support.

"Vamos Maria!" one spectator hollered for the Russian.

"Vamos Agnes!" another shouted for the Pole.

Sharapova draped a rolled-up cold towel around her neck during changeovers, but the heat didn't seem to faze either player. But the pressure to hold serve made Sharapova wobble twice.

Serving at 5-6 in the first set, she committed four unforced errors -- including a blown overhead -- to lose the set.

The pattern was similar in the second set, when Radwanska had only one break point -- the last point of the match. Sharapova sailed a forehand long, and Radwanska lifted her arms in triumph.

Radwanska beat Venus Williams en route to the final and won every set she played. She improved to 2-7 against Sharapova, with her other victory at the 2007 U.S. Open.

Sharapova was trying to extend her streak of winning at least one title for a 10th consecutive year. Instead she settled for her third runner-up trophy in 2012 -- she also lost finals at the Australian Open and Indian Wells, both to Azarenka.