Venus Williams is just one match away from retaining her Hamburg Cup title after a 7-5 6-3 semifinal victory over third-seeded Swiss Martina Hingis on Saturday. The American faces Kim Clijsters in the final after the Belgian's opponent, Jelena Dokic, was forced to retire during the second set of their semifinal with a thigh injury.
Top-seed Williams showed no signs of the ankle injury that restricted her movement in the quarter-finals.
"I was doing a lot better with the ankle. I was used to the tape and felt more confident on it than I did yesterday. I felt in control the whole time," said Williams.
Both players struggled to find their best form or stamp any real authority on the match, demonstrated by seven breaks of serve in the first set and another five consecutive breaks to close out the 72-minute contest.
"She (Hingis) was playing good tennis, moving the ball around, playing deep and playing the short ball also. But I felt as soon as I had the ball on my racket then I could do whatever I wanted with it," added Williams.
Bureau Report