Serena Williams eases past Flavia Pennetta; will face Ekaterina Makarova in semis

New York, Sep 4 (IANS)

World No.1 Serena Williams of the US stormed in to the US Open women's singles semi-finals with a facile 6-3, 6-2 win over Flavia Pennetta of Italy.

The American tennis star Wednesday moved within two wins from her sixth US Open title. She will play Ekaterina Makarova of Russia in the semis, reports Xinhua.

Pennetta was once leading 3-0 in the first set, but Williams won the next six games in a row to claim the first set. Pennetta failed to come back in the second set, allowing Williams to break twice to seal the victory.

Ekaterina Makarova of Russia moved into the US Open semi-finals after beating 16th-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 6-4, 6-2.

Makarova entered a Grand Slam singles semi-final for the first time, reports Xinhua.

Holding two Grand Slam titles, former World No.1 Azarenka seemed to be the favourite, but Makarova put in a determined performance to leave her opponent shell-shocked.

"I played so many times with Vika, she beat me and I beat her," said Makarova after the match, "So, today was a tough one, and I'm really happy that I came through."