MELBOURNE, Australia — Serena Williams crushed Agnieszka Radwanska in Thursday's semifinals to reach her seventh Australian Open decider.
The world No. 1 was in a destructive mood early, blasting her way through the opening set before closing out a 6-0, 6-4 victory. Williams, a 21-time grand slam champion, gave the No. 4 seed few chances, hitting 42 winners in a display of power in just 64 minutes on court.
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With the win, Williams reached her 26th grand slam final and fifth in the past six majors. She is one win away from equaling Steffi Graf's record of 22 grand slam titles.
Radwanska, the 2012 Wimbledon runner-up, had lost all eight previous meetings against Williams. A ninth loss appeared inevitable at first blush.
Williams stepped into short Radwanska returns, winning 22 of 25 points at the net. She jumped all over Radwanska's serve with two clean return winners to break in the opening game.
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Radwanska needed errors from Williams' aggression, but it was mostly winners — eight in the first three games — forthcoming.
There was initially no drop in level from Williams in the second set, who lost just seven points on her way to winning the first set in 20 minutes. Radwanska finally got on the board in the opening game of the second set before breaking the Williams serve for 3-3.
The crowd rallied for Radwanska — wanting a longer match — but when Williams broke for 5-4, the contest was over. Radwanska was 10-0 this year heading into this match, but Williams simply hit her off the court early.
Williams has gone on to win the year's first grand slam every time she has reached at least the final four. She'll face Angelique Kerber in the finale Sunday. Kerber defeated Johanna Konta 7-5, 6-2 in Thursday's other semifinal.
STATISTICAL BREAKDOWN
Serena Williams (1) def. Agnieszka Radwanska (4) 6-0, 6-4
ACES
Williams — 8
Radwanska — 0
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Williams — 42/17
Radwanska — 4/7
BREAK POINTS WON
Williams — 5/6
Radwanska – 1/2
FIRST SERVE PERCENTAGE
Williams — 63
Radwanska — 54
PERCENTAGE OF POINTS WON ON FIRST/SECOND SERVE
Williams — 88/47
Radwanska — 54/33
TOTAL POINTS
Williams — 59
Radwanska — 34