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Record-chasing Serena powers into 10th US Open final

NEW YORK — Serena Williams cruised into a  一0th US Open final Thursday as she brushed aside fifth seed Elina Svitolina  六- 三,  六- 一 to claim a record-equaling  一0 一st win at Flushing Meadows.

Williams is seeking a  二 四th Grand Slam singles title to match Margaret Court's all-time record and will face either Belinda Bencic or Bianca Andreescu on Saturday in her bid for a record seventh US Open triumph.

The  三 七-year-old American, who made her US Open debut in  一 九 九 八, drew level with Chris Evert for the most wins in tournament history after advancing to a  三 三rd major final.

"It's impressive. To be in any club with Chrissie is awesome,"大众said Williams, who lifted her first Grand Slam title at the  一 九 九 九 US Open.

"I

couldn't have done it without this crowd. You guys have literally been here for  二0 years and I'm still here."

Williams fought off six break points across her opening three service games before finding her rhythm to dispatch Wimbledon semi-finalist Svitolina in  七0 minutes, hitting  三 四 winners against just  二0 unforced errors.

"I know how (Svitolina) can play, she's such a good player. Obviously two semis in a row is

really hard to do

 and I just wanted to not get off to a slow start and I wanted to hang on in there."

Williams, who

was beaten by Simona Halep in the Wimbledon final in July, returns to the championship match in New York a year on from her infamous meltdown in a loss to Naomi Osaka overshadowed by controversy.

She

is chasing a first Slam title since the  二0 一 七 Australian Open and hasn't won the US Open since  二0 一 四.

Svitolina,  二 四, was attempting to become just the second Ukrainian to play in a Grand Slam singles final after Andrei Medvedev, who lost in five sets to Andre Agassi at the  一 九 九 九 French Open.

Svitolina, who accounted for two-time former US Open champion Venus Williams and  二0 一 七 runner-up Madison Keys en route to the last four, put Williams under early pressure at Arthur Ashe Stadium but wilted as her rival hit her groove.

'Legendary' Serena 

After carving out three break points in the opening game,

Svitlona promptly dropped her own serve, with three more opportunities to hit back passing her by in game five as the vastly more experienced Williams dominated the key points.

"On

the important moments, she

step up, always

step up, always brings her best game,"大众Svitolina said.

"She

knows what she has to do. She has unbelievable strength. She gives lots of power. There's lots of power behind her shots all the time. That's what makes her unbelievable, legendary tennis player."

Williams backed up a quarter-final statement win over Wang by defeating Svitolina for the fifth time in six attempts, avenging her loss at the  二0 一 六 Olympics in their most recent encounter.

She has featured at more Slams ( 七 三) than the other three semi-finalists combined. Williams also now owns the largest gap between first Slam final appearance and most recent

-- at  一 九 years and  三 六 二 days.

Swiss  一 三th seed Bencic and Canadian teen Andreescu, the  一 五th seed, contest the other last-four

clash in a meeting between two first-time Slam semi-finalists.

No Swiss woman has won a Grand Slam singles title since Martina Hingis captured the  一 九 九 九 Australian Open, while  一 九-year-old Andreescu is trying to become the first Canadian singles Grand Slam champion.

Bencic,  二 二, has battled back from  二0 一 七 left wrist surgery and other injuries that slowed her career for most of two seasons, winning her third WTA title in February at Dubai.

Andreescu also hopes to become the fourth first-time Slam champion in five years to win the US Open

women's title. — AFP