By Chris Oddo | Friday May 13, 2016

Serena Williams has surged to life at the Foro Italico in Rome and that spelled trouble for Svetlana Kuznetsova on Friday. The World No. 1 ripped through Kuznetsova in 51 jaw-dropping minutes to book her place in the semifinals, where she’ll meet Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania.

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Williams’ 6-2, 6-0 win exacts a bit of revenge for her loss to Kuznetsova in Miami, but the American has her mind more on her own game than what happened seven weeks ago. “It's great,” Williams said of the win. “It makes me feel good… I really feel like she's probably one of the best clay-court players, and having to face her was a task and a challenge. We always have really tough matches, so I'm just really happy to get through that one.”

Williams, who has yet to drop a set in Rome, dropped only six first-serve points and saved all three break points she faced.

Her ninth victory in 12 career matches with Kuznetsova puts her two steps from a fourth Rome title and 70th overall.

On Saturday she’ll play a red-hot youngster who has won all eight sets she has played at Rome in Begu.

“I have seen her play a lot,” Williams said. “She plays a lot of big matches on courts against a lot of top players. She's had a lot of big wins and had a lot of close losses. Yeah, it's been really refreshing and fun to watch her. I'm excited for it.”

In the lower half of the draw, Garbine Muguruza and Madison Keys set up a hard-hitting semifinal by advancing on Friday.

Muguruza reached her first semifinal of the season by notching an impressive 7-5, 6-2 victory over Timea Bacsinszky. The Spaniard was composed against the cagey defense of the Swiss, patiently waiting for opportunities to strike and executing efficiently at the net and behind her big, booming serve.

“I am satisfied,” said Muguruza. “The matches I played with Timea before were very tough matches and very hard. Obviously she's top 10. She's there for a reason. So it's a great victory for me on clay, also, because she beat Carla [Suarez Navarro] yesterday so that's a sign she's playing well.”

Keys battled past Barbora Strycova to reach her first semifinal at Rome, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3. The American had trouble finding the court at times but she gathered herself to make a strong push in the final set. She took the final three games to set the clash with Muguruza.