Clijsters beats Venus in US Open semis

NEW YORK (AP): Defending champion Kim Clijsters beat Venus Williams in three sets yesterday to move one win away from her second straight US Open title.

Clijsters' 20th straight victory at Flushing Meadows earned her a place in today's final against seventh-seeded Vera Zvonareva. Zvonareva reached her second straight Grand Slam final, defeating top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki 6-4, 6-3 earlier yesterday.

"Obviously, this is what you try to achieve," Clijsters said in an on-court interview. "I never expected I'd come back in this position. I was trying to do it. It wasn't easy but I stuck with it so you can have these moments."

The second-seeded Clijsters won 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-4 to defeat Williams for the fifth straight time.

2¹/²-year layoff

Clijsters, who also won the tournament in 2005, is seeking to become the first woman since 2001 to successfully defend her US Open title.

Venus Williams was the last to do that. But the 30-year-old American, seeded third, has not been back to the final since 2002.

Clijsters' final opponent in 2009, when she was playing only her third tournament back after a 2¹/²-year layoff, was Wozniacki, who was making her first major final appearance.

The 20-year-old Dane had been dominant in her run this year - she lost just 17 games in advancing to the semi-finals, the fewest since Serena Williams dropped 14 in 2002. But Zvonareva knocked Wozniacki off rhythm with powerful serves and assertive play, as the wind again made conditions difficult for players at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

the right balance

Zvonareva had five aces and she won 70 per cent of points on her first serve and 13 of 17 points at the net.

"It's the right balance between being patient and being aggressive," Zvonareva said. "With those windy conditions, you have to play sometimes ugly. You don't have to expect to play your best tennis."

Wozniacki had an uncharacteristic 31 unforced errors. She had been riding a 13-match winning streak and led the tour with 31 victories on hard courts this year.

With top-ranked Serena Williams out with a foot injury, Wozniacki was seeded No. 1 at a Grand Slam for the first time.

"She was not missing a lot," Wozniacki said. "She was going for her shots. Most things were going in. You know, I had chances and I made some mistakes today that I usually don't do."