Kim Clijsters edges Venus Williams to advance to U.S. Open women’s final

Reporting from New York — 

It wasn’t the final point of Friday’s semifinal match -- the joyous winning forehand from Kim Clijsters that couldn’t be chased down by a dispirited and slow-footed Venus Williams -- that brought 23,000 people to their feet at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Friday.

That winning shot was just about expected because second-seeded and defending champion Clijsters had gained such momentum from another shot, a luxurious lob that danced just beyond Williams’ racket and skipped happily off the baseline as the 30-year-old Grand Slam veteran waved her racket helplessly.

That lob gave Clijsters the decisive service break and one game later she had won her 20th consecutive match at the U.S. Open, 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-4, over the third-seeded Williams to advance to the women’s final of the U.S. Open.

On Saturday night Clijsters will aim for her third Open championship when she plays 26-year-old Vera Zvonareva, the seventh-seeded Russian who upset top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki, 6-4, 6-3, in Friday’s first semifinal.

Williams has won two titles here but none since 2001. Yet she had seemed to gain strength and steadiness in each of her five wins at this Open, all without losing a set, despite coming in to New York nursing a knee injury that had kept her out of every tournament since Wimbledon.

But after winning the first set and hanging on in the second, Williams lost the touch on her serve in the second set tiebreak, putting in consecutive double faults that left her in an 0-3 hole.

“The tiebreak, obviously, is a little more pressure,” Williams said. “And it was just tough to start serving with the wind behind you in the tiebreak. On that side I was waiting a lot longer for the wind to stop blowing so you could get a good toss. Regardless, I’ve got to get it in and start the point.”

Then as Williams faltered under pressure, Clijsters began to thrive, finding more ways to hit through the ever-present wind.

Clijsters got the first service break in the third set, a game that Williams started with a double fault. Williams evened the final set in the eighth game when Clijsters briefly lost the aim on her serve.

In that game, Clijsters served back-to-back doubles and then, on break point, over-hit a forehand that sailed long. The crowd roared for Williams, hoping for a dramatic finish but Clijsters quickly steadied herself and in the very next game earned the chance to defend her title with that memorable lob.

“I just tried to make the points,” Clijsters said on the court. “I tried to step up and accelerate a little bit, I tried to keep the pressure on her. I’m glad she made a few double faults in the tiebreaker. It wasn’t easy but it was a fun night.”

This was the fifth time in a row that Clijsters has beaten Williams -- including in the fourth round of last year’s Open.

Wozniacki, who had been a surprise finalist here a year ago, brought a 13-match winning streak to the court against Zvonareva. But the strength of Wozniacki’s game – calm, mostly mistake-free defense – went away in the face of Zvonareva’s aggressive play.

The 20-year-old from Denmark who wears a Rolex watch and a dress especially designed for her by Stella McCartney, was uncomfortable retrieving Zvonareva’s confident volleys, pounding overheads and corner-seeking forehands.

Wozniacki had 31 unforced errors and, by the second set, a perpetual scowl on her face. Wozniacki is nicknamed “Miss Sunshine” because of her blond ponytail and easy smile.

There were few smiles at the end when Wozniacki left the court with a little wave. “I had chances,” Wozniacki said. “I made some mistakes today that I usually don’t do.”

This is Zvonareva’s second straight Grand Slam final. She made it to the end at Wimbledon where she was decisively beaten 6-3, 6-2 by Serena Williams. But she is even better remembered by New York crowds for her loss here last year to Flavia Pennetta when Zvonareva squandered six match points, angrily ripped protective tape off her knees and wept several times during the match.

“Tennis is an emotional game,” Zvonareva said Friday. “As long as you know yourself and you know which emotions are good for you, which are bad, you can use it to your advantage.”

SATURDAY’S FEATURED MATCHES: At 9 a.m. PT on Arthur Ashe Stadium, top-seeded Rafael Nadal vs. 12th-seeded Mikhail Youzhny; not before 11:45 a.m. PT, third-seeded Novak Djokovic vs. second-seeded Roger Federer; at 4 p.m. PT, seventh-seeded Vera Zvonareva vs. second-seeded Kim Clijsters.

diane.pucin@latimes.com

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