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Williams within 1 win of 7th Australian Open title
Serena Williams of the United States celebrates after winning a point against Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland during their semifinal match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday
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Serena Williams of the United States celebrates after winning a point against Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland during their semifinal match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday. (AP/Andrew Brownbill) (AP/Andrew Brownbill)
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span class="inline inline-center">Serena Williams of the United States celebrates after winning a point against Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland during their semifinal match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday. (AP/Andrew Brownbill)
Serena Williams gave another reminder of her dominance in women's tennis with a 6-0, 6-4 win in the Australian Open semifinals against Agnieszka Radwanska, who is soon to move to the No. 3 ranking.
Six-time champion Williams has never lost a semifinal or final at the Australian Open.
The first set was no contest, over in 20 minutes. Williams hit 18 winners and Radwanska, in her fifth major semifinal, had one ' in the fourth game.
The second set was closer, with Radwanska holding serve three times and breaking Serena's powerful serve once. But the 34-year-old Williams lifted again to finish it off, winning the last eight points of the match and closing with three aces and a big forehand winner.
Despite her 21 major titles and all her success, it is a loss that is inspiring Williams in this tournament. She was two wins away from a calendar-year Grand Slam in 2015 when she lost to Roberta Vinci in the U.S. Open semifinals.
"Physically I'm feeling a lot better, mentally I needed that break after the Open," she said, but "I didn't think I would do this well this fast.
"I'm really excited to be in the final ' it just kind of blows my mind right now."
Williams remains unbeaten in nine matches against Radwanska, and is an overwhelming favorite going into the final against the winner of Thursday's later match between No. 7-seeded Angelique Kerber and No. 47-ranked Johanna Konta, the first British woman since 1983 to reach a major semifinal.
With the roof on Rod Laver Arena closed because of a thunderstorm closing in, the most obvious noise in the first set was the chirping of trapped birds who'd taken shelter in the stadium.
The chirping intensified as Williams served in the sixth game of the second set, and she looked up angrily after her off-balance forehand from the baseline conceding her only service break of the match.
Williams finished with eight aces for the match ' after none in the first set ' and has dropped only 26 games in six rounds in a dominating run that included a 6-4, 6-1 win over No. 5 Maria Sharapova in the quarterfinals, a rematch of the 2015 final.
Jamie Murray and Brazil's Bruno Soares are through to the men's doubles final after a 6-3, 6-1 win over the French team of Adrian Mannarino and Lucas Pouille.
The first men's semifinal between defending champion Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer will open the night session. (kes)(+)
