Serena Pummels Aga in Istanbul Semi

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Serena Pummels Aga in Istanbul Semi

By Chris Oddo

Serena Williams Pummels Agnieszka Radwanska in Istanbul semi

(October 27, 2012) -- After a sluggish start that featured 12 unforced errors in four games, Serena Williams rallied to win 10 of the last 11 games against Agnieszka Radwanska to claim her place in the WTA Championships final for the fifth time.

The 6-2, 6-1 victory, Williams' fourth in four career matches against Radwanska, gives the American an opportunity for her third title at the prestigious year-end event in Istanbul.

After allowing Radwanska to draw even at 2-2 in the first set, the 15-time Grand Slam champion found her rhythm, winning all but five points during a four-game frolic that saw her claim the first set 6-2.

"I was trying," Radwanska said, "but Serena played too fast. I couldn't do anything."

For Radwanska, who had logged eight hour and four minutes of court time in her previous three matches in Istanbul (the 23-year-old edged Sara Errani in a three-hour, twenty-nine-minute final on Friday), the Williams' charge was just too much to handle.

It was more one-way traffic (with Williams directing) in the second set. Radwanska did not win a point on second serve in the second set and only managed to win 12 of 40 total points in the second set. The World No. 4 won 33 of 88 points on the afternoon.

"I knew that my opponent had had over eight hours on the court, so I had a little bit of an advantage going into the match," Williams said afterwards. "It will be the last match of the year for me, so I'm excited about that."

The 31-year-old will face Maria Sharapova on Sunday. She has defeated Sharapova in 9 of 11 career matches, including two one-sided blowouts at Madrid and at the Olympics this season, matches that saw Williams lose a cumulative total of five games.

Williams, playing in her fifth career WTA Championships final, will be gunning for her third title, and the forty-seventh overall title of her career. The American won the event in 2001 and 2009, and lost the final in 2002 and 2004.

Defending Champs Huber and Raymond Taken out by Hradecka and Hlavackova

Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond fell to the Czech duo of Lucie Hradecka and Andrea Hlavackova 7-6(6), 6-1 in the first doubles semifinal at Istanbul on Saturday.

Hlavackova and Hradecka, making their first career WTA Championships appearance, saved three set points in the first set with Hradecka serving at 4-5, and another in the tiebreaker at 5-6 before eventually taking the set in the tiebreaker.

In the second set the Czech duo did not face a break point and converted on both of their opportunities to breeze to the finish. Hradecka and Hlavackova, the Wimbledon, Olympics and US Open finalists, will play for their biggest title of the year on Sunday.

(Photo Credit: AP)