Venus Williams beats Roberta Vinci in the WTA Elite Trophy semi-final
Saturday 7 November 2015 13:05, UK
Venus Williams overpowered Roberta Vinci 6-2 6-2 to advance to the final of the WTA Elite Trophy.
The top-seed broke serve six times to dispatch Vinci in just 65 minutes in Zhuhai.
Williams also beat the Italian in the semi-finals of the Wuhan Open one month ago, while Vinci defeated Serena Williams in the semi-finals of the US Open, denying the younger Williams the chance for a calendar-year Grand Slam.
Venus Williams improved to 5-0 lifetime against Vinci and recorded her 40th match win of the year - a milestone she has not achieved since 2008.
"Today wasn't an easy match," insisted Williams afterwards. "Every game was really well-contested and she never gave me any points. She's had a great year; I felt like I really earned it today."
If Williams wins the title on Sunday she will return to the top 10 in the WTA rankings for the first time in more than four years.
She added: "China's been good to me this year. I played well in Wuhan, and now another final here in Zhuhai, and I hope I can win one more match. It won't be easy. I'm looking forward to it."
She will face Karolina Pliskova in the final after the Czech defeated Ukraine's Elina Svitolina 6-3 6-1 in the other semi-final.
