MELBOURNE, Jan 28: World number one Serena Williams demolished Polish fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska today to surge into her 26th Grand Slam final and zero in on a seventh Australian Open title.
The dominant top seed was untouchable in overpowering the Pole 6-0, 6-4 in just 64 minutes on Rod Laver Arena to set up a decider against German seventh seed Angelique Kerber.
Of her 25 previous major finals, Williams has won 21.
The writing was on the wall for Radwanska � Williams had never lost a semifinal at Melbourne Park on her way to six titles, and had beaten the Pole in each of their previous eight meetings stretching back to 2008.
She crushed long-time rival Maria Sharapova in the quarterfinals and dished out the same treatment to Radwanska, halting her 13-match win streak in emphatic fashion.
The victory puts her just one win away from matching Steffi Graf�s Open-era Grand Slam record of 22 titles, with Margaret Court�s all-time mark of 24 edging closer.
In her 16th Australian Open, Williams, who said this week she had no plans to retire any time soon, got on the front foot immediately, and effortlessly.
In the other semifinal, seventh seeded Angelique Kerber ended Johanna Konta�s dream run at the Australian Open, winning 7-5, 6-2 against the unseeded Briton to book a spot in the tennis singles final.
German Kerber is now into her first ever Grand Slam final � she was the only player in the Top 10 to have never made it to the last stage. �It�s a really special moment,� Kerber said after the match. �I mean, I reached the finals for the first time. I was trying to give everything today on the court.�
Playing Konta for the first time, Kerber drew from experience, the 28-year-old having made two Grand Slam semifinal appearances under her belt.
Kerber used that newfound confidence to stem the rising tide of Konta, who was chasing British tennis history in her bid to become the country�s first Grand Slam finalist since 1977.
The German started off the match with two emphatic breaks of serve, leaping ahead to a 3-0 lead while Konta, who was making her first main draw appearance in Melbourne, showed signs of nerves early on.
The Briton was able to reel off four straight games to ease her way back into the match, but after a brief rain delay Kerber emerged with the first set 7-5.
Kerber was ruthless in the second set, building a 4-1 lead as the errors continued to pile up for the Briton. A stray backhand from Konta sealed the set and Kerber�s spot in the final, 6-2. � Agencies
