• WTA Championships

Serena crushes tired Radwanska

Serena Williams hits a forehand to Li Na © PA Photos

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Serena Williams overcame some patchy passages of play to run out an impressive winner over Agnieszka Radwanska in the semi-finals of the WTA Championships.

The American has had problems with her normally brilliant serve all week and she had problems early on against Radwanska, which then filtered into her ground game. But she kept her composure, regrouped and found her stride to claim an impressive 6-2 6-1 win.

Williams came into the match with a 3-0 record against Radwanska, their most recent meeting being at Wimbledon this year, and she came out like a player aware of that fact.

Radwanska, though, came on court following a near four-hour epic against Sara Errani the previous day and looked leaden legged as Williams broke in the first game.

The serving problems for Williams were in evidence early on as she sent down two double faults but she saved two break points and held with ace.

Radwanska got on the board with a hold in the third game and she pounced on Williams' shaky serving to break back. That break appeared to sting Williams into life as she ran through four games on the spin to take the set.

Williams shook off her serving woes as the first set advanced and she was filled with confidence by the start of the second, as she broke immediately. Radwanska, clearly fatigued from her clash with Errani, had no answers and with Williams moving fluently and striking the ball crisply, it was one-way traffic in the second set.

Williams will face Maria Sharapova in the final after the Russian got the better of world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka.

In a match where both players produced some brutal hitting, it was Sharapova who proved slightly the more consistent. She edged a tight first set and it filled her with confidence as she claimed two quick breaks of serve at the start of the second.

Azarenka attempted to strike back but Sharapova's sometimes suspect service motion stood the test as she closed out a 6-4 6-2 win.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.