Serena Williams through to final

Serena Williams progressed to the US Open final tonight after dispatching sixth-seeded Dinara Safina of Russia 6-3 6-2.

Williams will go for her ninth Grand Slam title – and first since the 2007 Australian Open – later today against Serbia’s Jelena Jankovic, who defeated Elena Dementieva of Russia in the earlier semi-final.

“I’m just happy to be finally back in the finals,” Williams said. “For once, an American back in the finals here so I’m really excited.”

Safina, who came in with a 37-4 record since the start of May, broke 26-year-old Williams in the opening game of the match and jumped out to a 2-0 lead.

But the momentum quickly swung.

Williams broke Safina’s serve in the fourth game and again in the eighth to take a 5-3 lead in the opening set.

The Russian had a chance to get back into the match with two break-point chances of her own, but the American was able to fend her off and held serve after the first deuce to claim the set.

Though Tropical Storm Hanna is due to hit New York’s metropolitan area today, its presence was felt throughout the match as wind gusts were noticeable during each point.

The younger sister of former men’s number one Marat Safin, 22-year-old Safina seemed to be most affected by the wind, especially on her serve, where she was broken three straight times at the start of the second set.

While Safina, who committed 41 unforced errors, visibly started to become more frustrated with herself, Williams remained calm and kept her opponent off balance with an array of cross-court winners and points at the net as she opened up a 5-1 lead.

“I thought, ’okay, if it’s so windy then I’m not going to go for so many winners and stay out here and do what I can,”’ Williams said.

Serving for the match, Williams put an end to the contest with a booming serve up the middle to put the two-time US Open champion into her first final at the event since 2002.

Williams, who defeated her sister Venus in the quarter-finals on Wednesday, has still yet to lose a set in the tournament.