TENNIS Live

US Open - Semi-finals - Women

Nationality Player Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5
United StatesS Williams66---
Russian FederationD Safina32---

Serena Williams

Nationality USA
Date of Birth 26/09/1981
Height 1.75 m
Weight 68 kg

Dinara Safina

Nationality RUS
Date of Birth 27/04/1986
Height 1.82 m
Weight 70 kg
 

Live Comments

  1. WIN!! - Serena closes out the 6-3 6-2 victory in one hour and 28 minutes on her first chance with a big service winner out wide. The American will play Serbia's Jelena Jankovic tomorrow with a chance for her third Flushing Meadows title. The winner will be queen of the US Open and the new world number one. Safina hit a whopping 41 unforced errors in that match, while Williams limited her error total to 21. Thanks for following our LIVE coverage and join us tomorrow.

  2. 40-30 - Serena gets back to her smart tactics, playing a cautious baseline rally and waiting for Safina to send the error wide and gift her rival MATCH POINT....

  3. 30-30 - Safina battles back with a fine sliced backhand up the line as Serena's lob is just long, and she can only fall to the court laughing.

  4. 30-0 - Williams sends a beautiful forehand pass across court to move within two points of victory....

  5. 0-0 - Dinara Safina hits an astounding cross-court backhand, which is called out but overturned by Hawk-Eye. They will replay the first point......

  6. 5-2 - Dinara Safina has her best game in a long time, closing out the hold to 15 with the service winner. Serena Williams will serve for her place in the US Open final.

  7. 5-1 - Williams just pummels the ball at the net eventually hitting the easy forehand winner that wrong foots Williams to go up 40-15. And she closes out the hold to 15 with a service winner to move one game away from the final.

  8. 4-1 - Serena gets another BREAK POINT with a fantastic pass that Safina can't reach despite lunging at the ball. And the Russian shows off the famous family temper, slamming her racket into the ground..... And the American BREAKS again with a killer cross-court forehand winner right on the left tramline! What a shot for the fourth seeded Serena Williams, who is two games away from reaching her fourth US Open final (she has won the trophy twice).

  9. 3-1 - Williams does eventually close out another close service game with a service winner.

  10. 40-40 - Safina battles back from 40-15 back to DEUCE.

  11. 2-1 - Safina hits her fifth double fault to let Williams back to DEUCE and then fires the sloppy backhand error into the net to give away a BREAK POINT chance. And Williams get the third straight BREAK of serve! There were four successive breaks in the middle of the second set in the first semi-final, as the wind caused lots of mistakes, as itÂ’s doing again now.

  12. 40-40 - Safina double faults to hand Williams yet another BREAK POINT. And the Russian saves with a really deep forehand that lands just in, as confirmed by Hawk-Eye, and forces the American long. Back to DEUCE.

  13. 1-1 - Safina fires a brilliant backhand return-of-serve winner across court and right on the left tramline to get a TRIPLE BREAK POINT!! And Serena completes the wretched service game by sending the unforced forehand error across court and well wide.

  14. 1-0 - Williams wins six straight points as Safina's collapse continues, and the American breaks. Serena Williams is in complete command of this match, and Dinara Safina has no response.

  15. 40-40 - Serena rips the unforced forehand error across court and wide, as the Russian rushes ahead 40-0 in her first service game of this second set. But Williams saves all three GAME POINTS, the third after a mis-struck backhand goes short, but actually ends up in her favour as Safina is unable to get to the net to send it back. DEUCE.

  16. 6-3 - Williams books her SET POINT with a service winner, and confirms on her first chance as Safina saves the error into the net. The American was playing a much more cautious game than her rival at the end of that set, and that proved to be the smart move. Serena is a set away from her second straight Grand Slam final.

  17. 40-40 - Great defence from Safina earns the Russian a couple of BREAK BACK POINTS. But she blows the first with an unforced backhand error into the net after the lengthy baseline rally. But Serena forces the Russian off the court with the massive forehand into the corner and sets up the dry volley winner at the net. Back to DEUCE.

  18. 5-3 - And a couple of big unforced errors by Safina hand the American DOUBLE BREAK POINT, and another mistake allows the fourth seed to BREAK! Williams will serve for the opening set.

  19. 4-3 - A couple of service winners later and Serena holds serve.

  20. 40-40 - The blustery conditions that wreaked such havoc on Elena Dementieva and Jelena Jankovic in the last match is doing some more damage in this one, as both Williams and Safina are struggling badly on serve. Serena allows Safina back from 40-15 down to DEUCE.

  21. 3-3 - Safina stops the bleeding by powering to a nervy hold to DEUCE, winning a dozen points in the game, and finishing with the service winner to keep the set on serve.

  22. 3-2 - Serena Williams rushes ahead 40-0 before closing out the comfortable hold to 15 with the service winner into the body.

  23. 2-2 - Another BREAK POINT chance for Serena, and this time, on the third attempt, she confirms, as the Russian sends the cross-court forehand error well wide! The American taking advantage of mistakes from the Russian, rather than playing particularly well herself. Exactly what she did in her last match against older sister Venus.

  24. 40-40 - Safina sends the overhead fading smash across court but out to gift the American another BREAK CHANCE..... And Serena gets to the poor Safina drop shot, but she sends the backhand error just long! A terrible point by both women, but Safina is the one who benefits. DEUCE.

  25. 40-40 - Serena has a chance to BREAK BACK, but sends the forehand just long. Back to DEUCE.

  26. 1-2 - A couple more aces, one at 117mph, earn Serena the hold to DEUCE and get the American on the scoreboard in this first set.

  27. 40-40 - A battering array of forehands by Safina wrong foots Serena and forces the fourth seed short to earn herself another BREAK POINT chance....... Williams hits the 104mph service winner down the T to save though. Back to DEUCE.

  28. 0-2 - And the Russian pulls through with some clutch serves to come up with the very nervy opening hold and extend her first-set lead.

  29. 40-40 - Safina sends the unforced backhand error well long to hand Williams the chance for the immediate BREAK BACK. But she saves with a phenomenal second-serve ace right down the T!! What a serve!! Back to DEUCE.

  30. 0-1 - Safina is hitting winners with ease at the start of this match, and she drills a forehand winner right past the American to book DOUBLE BREAK POINT. Serena saves the first with a deep forehand, but is long with the unforced forehand error on the second. A sloppy start form the last American standing has allowed the Russian to take the early lead by breaking in the very first game.

  31. 0-0 - Serena won the toss and has opted to serve first.

  32. 21:45 - The number sixth seeed Safina won her last meeting with the fourth seeded Williams 2-6 6-1 7-6(5) at the quarter-finals in Berlin, though Safina has the lifetime advantage 3-1 having taken their three previous meetings including here at Flushing Meadows six years ago.

  33. ----- - Welcome to LIVE text comments and scoring of the second women's semi-final at the US Open as French Open runner-up Dinara Safina meets Wimbledon runner-up Serena Williams for a place opposite Jelena Jankovic in the Flushing Meadows final.