Venus Williams made quick work of her Semifinal match against Shahar Peer of Israel to reach her first Madrid Masters final. The match, which was over in two quick sets, 6-3, 6-0, took just 66 minutes.
Williams, seeded 4th in this tournament, has built an impressive record of 12-1 on clay this year. Earlier in this tournament, she defeated No. 21 ranked Vera Zvonareva of Russia, No. 15 seed, Francesca Schiavone of Italy, and No 8 seed, Samantha Stosur of Australia.
After the match, Williams said, “I’ve played so many different players with so many different styles _ some play more clay-court tennis, others just hit the ball really hard. So just to come out on top so far is good, and I’m happy with my form and I’m going to try to keep that form tomorrow.”
Williams will be trying to win her 44th career title and third of the year as she faces an unseeded opponent in the Final, either Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic or Aravane Rezai of France.
Williams looked in control as she secured an early break to go up 3-1. The unseeded Peer responded immediately, earning three break points after firing a forehand pass down the line. Williams saved the first two before hitting a backhand into the net.
Williams eventually found some rhythm on serve, and closed out the first set with a break.
Williams showed her variety of talent when she took a 3-0 lead in the second set with a deft drop-volley. That seemed to lock up the match and Williams closed out the final set 6-0.
