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Serena Williams advances to 7th Australian Open final

(AFP Photo/Greg Wood)
(AFP Photo/Greg Wood)

MELBOURNE, Australia – Serena Williams was a force to be reckoned with as she finally tasted victory on Thursday. Three ferocious serves – ace, ace, ace – sealed with a forehand winner at the net, and she was on to her seventh Australian Open final by defeating No. 4 Agnieszka Radwanska 6-0, 6-4.

Williams has never lost an Australian Open final, where she'll face first-time finalist Angelique Kerber. Kerber defeated Johanna Konta later Thursday, 7-5, 6-2.

Williams played an insanely quick first set, needing only 20 minutes to hand Radwanska the bagel. "I was able to do everything I needed to do. I was really hitting just all the right shots, making little to no errors," she said later.

The world No. 1 carried her momentum into the second set, breaking Radwanska in the third game for a 2-1 advantage. Radwanska earned her only break of the match as Williams committed four unforced errors in the sixth game of that set. That was nearly a quarter of her 17 throughout an impressively clean match.

The set then stayed on serve to 4-all. Fans started to back Radwanska, seemingly hoping to see the match extend into a third set. Williams had other plans. She earned a tough break to take a 5-4 advantage. Serving for the set, she never gave Radwanska a chance. Three aces provided a solid cushion. A 117mph serve followed by a forehand at the net gave her the win.

As the final point sailed across, Williams looked more jubilant than she has after any win in recent memory. She twirled in several circles, waving to the fans as they offered a standing ovation. If there is tennis royalty, particularly in Melbourne, she is it. Williams is now a perfect 7-0 in Australian Open semi-finals.

(AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
(AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

The 34-year-old Williams now takes her second shot at a 22nd Grand Slam title, a mark that would tie her with Steffi Graf on the list of all-time titles in the Open era. She faces first-time Grand Slam finalist Kerber, the first left-handed player to reach the final here since Monica Seles won the title in 1996. Williams has defeated Kerber in five of their six career meetings. 

Williams made her first attempt at 22 at last year's U.S. Open, falling short as she fell to Roberta Vinci in the semi-final. She'd won the first three majors of the year, setting her up for a potential calendar year Grand Slam. The crushing loss convinced her to take time away from the sport for the first time in more than three years.

Those four months of rest left many, Serena included, wondering if she would compete at the year's first Grand Slam. Those questions have been answered rather decisively this week. Not only can she still compete, she actually looks better than she did at the start of last year's remarkable run.

"I needed it. I needed time off just to, like, take a minute and just chill and re-heal, get ready," she said. Still, she wondered how it would impact her game.

"I thought [this] was going to be a really rough part [of the season]," she added. "I never thought I was going to go out and lose in the first round, but at the same time I never thought before, I'm going to make it to the final."

Surprising or not, she's in the final. Williams has only dropped 17 games en route to the final. Kerber has dropped She hasn't dropped a set along the way. If she can win two more, she'll officially claim her place next to Graf at the top of the tennis world.