Tennis: Serena Williams is relishing the chance to capture her first US Open title in six years after the fourth-seeded American reached the final with a 6-3 6-2 victory over sixth-seeded Dinara Safina of Russia.
Williams will go for her ninth grand slam title - and first since the 2007 Australian Open - against Serbia's Jelena Jankovic, who defeated Elena Dementieva of Russia in the earlier semi-final.
"I'm just happy to be finally back in the finals," Williams said. "For once, an American back in the finals here so I'm really excited."
Safina, who came in with a 37-4 record since the start of May, broke 26-year-old Williams in the opening game of the match and jumped out to a 2-0 lead.
But the momentum quickly swung.
Williams broke Safina's serve in the fourth game and again in the eighth to take a 5-3 lead in the opening set.
The Russian had a chance to get back into the match with two break-point chances of her own, but the American was able to fend her off and held serve after the first deuce to claim the set.
Though Tropical Storm Hanna is due to hit New York's metropolitan area today, its presence was felt throughout the match as wind gusts were noticeable during each point.
The younger sister of former men's number one Marat Safin, 22-year-old Safina appeared destined to be most affected by the wind, especially on her serve, where she was broken three times in a row at the start of the second set.
While Safina, who committed 41 unforced errors, visibly started to become more frustrated with herself, Williams remained calm and kept her opponent off balance with an array of cross-court winners and points at the net as she opened up a 5-1 lead.
Serving for the match, Williams put an end to the contest with a booming serve up the middle to put the two-time US Open champion into her first final at the event since 2002.
Williams, who defeated her sister Venus in the quarter-finals on Wednesday, has yet to lose a set in the tournament.
Jankovic secured a long-awaited first trip to a grand slam final with a 6-4 6-4 victory over Dementieva.
It was her first victory in five grand slam semi-final appearances.
"As you can see, I have tears in my eyes," said Jankovic "I'm a little bit emotional to be in the final."
Becoming the world's top-ranked player for a week last month, Jankovic admitted she did not feel she completely deserved it considering she had never reached the championship match of a major.
That changed yesterday, as the 23-year-old overcame a start that saw her fall behind 4-2 in the first set before rallying.
In the second, Jankovic broke Dementieva in the final game, cashing in on the second of three match points when the Russian's forehand sailed long.
"I want to win a grand slam, and this is why I came here," Jankovic said. "Not having injuries, not having some problems is giving me a good opportunity to be here, so I'm really thankful for that."
Falling short in the last four at both the Australian and French Open this year, Jankovic made up for a break on her first service game by reeling off the final four games of the first set.
A runner-up here in 2004, Dementieva really struggled with unforced errors following the good start, ending up with 42 compared to 22 for Jankovic.
"I just feel like I (had) too many unforced errors," Dementieva said. "She was playing very solid, very safe, especially in the conditions, like today on a windy day.
"So she was trying to do everything, and I just was trying to go for the winner and couldn't make it."
Overall, Jankovic improved her record to 5-3 against Dementieva, including two from three this season.
For Dementieva, her bid to reach a second straight final came up short after winning the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics.
-PA