Serena Williams will face world number one Victoria Azarenka in the US Open final on Saturday after the American ended the run of Sara Errani in a one-sided semi-final.
Williams triumphed 6-1 6-2 in one hour and four minutes in a match that could not have been more different to the earlier contest between Azarenka and Maria Sharapova.
The world number one was outplayed in the first set but came back strongly in the second and then edged the decider to win 3-6 6-2 6-4 after two hours and 42 minutes and reach her first US Open final.
Williams is looking for her fourth title at Flushing Meadows in her sixth final after losing to Sam Stosur last year, and she has lost only one of 10 previous meetings with Azarenka.
The clash against Errani always looked like a mismatch, and so it proved. At only 5ft 4 1/2in and slight, Errani was giving away a huge amount of power to her opponent, and it told.
Williams won the first five games before the Italian finally got on the board, and that was only a minor delay before the fourth seed clinched the opening set after half an hour with a backhand winner.
It was her 18th winner in seven games compared to three from her opponent, and the pattern continued at the start of the second set.
Williams was the hot favourite to win the title before the tournament after her Wimbledon and Olympic success, and that has certainly not changed. She has dropped only 19 games in six matches, and blasted 38 winners compared to only six from Errani.
Williams said: "It's really awesome. This is what I wanted and what I dreamed of all year. I'm really happy, I'm in the final again, and I'm excited."
Errani still has a chance of winning US Open silverware when she and fellow Italian Roberta Vinci take on Czech pair Lucie Hradecka and Andrea Hlavackova in the women's doubles final.
