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USA: Venus Williams was at the top of her game as she thrashed Elena Dementieva 6-0, 6-1 on Saturday in the semifinals of the Bank of the West Classic.Second-seeded Williams needed just over an hour to rout the third-seeded Russian.
“Things are going well for me but I seem to want more,” Williams said. “I just like winning. I don’t care where it is, indoors or outdoors.”
Williams’ opponent in the final will be eighth-seeded Marion Bartoli. The Frenchwoman beat Australian Sam Stosur 6-3, 1-6, 6-1.
After winning her singles, Williams joined her sister, Serena less than an hour later in the doubles semifinals, where they won 6-2, 6-2 against Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Nadia Petrova.
“I felt like everything went well for me,” Williams said. “I was able to raise my level at the important parts. My plan is to try and keep this level for the rest of the tournament. I felt like I played my best in the last two games when I was able to get into a better rhythm.”
Williams, who lost the Wimbledon final to Serena last month, will be seeking her third title at Stanford in her first appearance since 2005.
She has not won an outdoor U.S. hardcourt tournament since 2002, something she will try to remedy against Bartoli.
“I’m just going to continue developing my game on all fronts,” Williams said. “My goal is to peak there (U.S. Open).”
Williams beat Dementieva for the sixth consecutive time and improved to 9-2 against her.
“I don’t have good statistics against Venus,” Dementieva said. “She was playing too good for me. She was powerful on the baseline and had a solid first serve. She didn’t give me much of a chance. I might have been able to win a few more points, but not the match.”
Dementieva had a paltry three winners for the match.
“My percentage of first serves were low and that gave her a chance to attack me,” Dementieva said. “I did not put any pressure on her with my serve. She was playing solid and looked confident on the court.”
Bartoli also reached the finals at Stanford last year before losing to Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak.