Serena Williams beat the best the Israeli Army had to offer.
Shahar Peer, a 19-year-old corporal, kept things close for an hour before Williams pulled away, winning 7-6 (4), 6-1 on Thursday night for a berth in the final at the Sony Ericsson Open.
One test remains this week for the rejuvenated Williams: a revival today of her long-dormant rivalry with Justine Henin. The Belgian reached the Key Biscayne final for the first time by beating Anna Chakvetadze 6-2, 6-3.
Henin versus Williams was once a fierce rivalry, but they haven't met since the 2003 Wimbledon semi-finals. Williams has won five of their eight meetings, including two of three in Grand Slam events.
Williams struggled early against the 14th-seeded Peer, who came within two points of an upset when they met at the Australian Open in January. In the first set Williams returned poorly, struggled with her backhand and failed to break serve.
But she won 12 consecutive service points to stay even, took a 4-1 lead in the tiebreaker and closed out the set with a service winner.
Williams earned her first break early in the second set, took a 3-0 lead and punctuated the victory with her seventh ace. Playing her first tournament since winning the Australian title, she's seeking her fourth Key Biscayne title.
The top-ranked Henin is a five-time Grand Slam champion, but until this year she had never advanced beyond the quarter-finals at Key Biscayne. She says she dislikes the island's windy weather and tends to play poorly in March because it's the anniversary of her mother's death.
Henin said she has been hindered during the tournament by a breathing problem, possibly allergies, and is taking medication. She barely survived the third round, overcoming a 5-1 deficit in the third set to beat Virginie Razzano.
But against the ninth-seeded Chakvetadze, Henin took charge from the start.
The latest Russian to crack the women's top 10, Chakvetadze played tentatively early and lost the first set in 33 minutes. In the second set, serving at 40-0, she lost five consecutive points to fall behind 2-0.
Henin hit consecutive aces to close out the next game, and saved some of her most aggressive groundstrokes for the final few games. Chakvetadze lost 20 of 35 points on her first serve and was broken five times.
Taiwan duo win again
Doubles pairing Chan Yung-jan (
It took one hour and 26 minutes to grind out the win which the Taiwanese duo took in straight sets 6-4, 6-4.
The victory earned them a place in the semi-finals and a rematch against top-seeded Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur, who beat Chan and Chuang in the finals of the Pacific Life Open earlier this month.
The Chinese pair took just one service game in the first set, and won only 25 percent of their service points during the entire match.
However Chan and Chuang appeared not to be on top form either. Chan lost three consecutive service games in the first set, and the pair fell behind 1-3 and 2-4 on double faults by Chuang in the second set. But they managed to convert a break point in the eighth game to pull even at 4-4, before going on to take the next two games to claim the set and the match.
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