Serena Williams beats Caroline Wozniacki to reach WTA final

SINGAPORE (AP) — Serena Williams will get a chance to avenge a humiliating loss against Simona Halep after they both advanced to the championship match of the season-ending WTA Finals with victories in contrasting style on Saturday.

Williams beat Caroline Wozniacki in a thrilling contest 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (6) to remain on course for a third-straight title, while Halep swept aside Agnieszka Radwanska 6-2, 6-2 to put herself in a position for the biggest title of her career.

Halep beat Williams 6-0, 6-2 in the group stage, inflicting the American's heaviest loss in 16 years, and the Romanian has been the form player of the tournament, dropping only 27 games across four matches against top-eight-ranked opponents.

Wozniacki served for the match at 5-4 in the third set, but Williams broke back and prevailed in the tiebreaker on her third match point after trailing 4-1.

It was a bittersweet win for Williams, who has developed a close off-court friendship with Wozniacki. The pair attended a Mariah Carey concert together on the eve of their semifinal.

"It was the first match I didn't feel great — if you take (sister) Venus out of the equation — where I wasn't happy after I won," Williams said.

"I really wanted to cry because Caro is so nice, we get along and we do so much together. She's like my little baby sister, from a different mother, and father, and different country."

Wozniacki reciprocated the affection, but being on the losing end of a 10-1 career record against the American meant she wanted to see less of the world No. 1.

"I told Serena 'Can you just leave me alone? I love you, but stay away from the other side of the court. Quite frankly I'm sick of losing to you," Wozniacki said.

Twice before this year, Williams had to come back from a set down to beat the Dane and she again made a slow start, taking only three points off Wozniacki's serve in the opening set and the frustration showed. After the seventh game, she repeatedly smashed her racket into the court, bringing a warning from the chair umpire.

"I don't know how many times I hit it but, boy, that racket will never do me wrong again I tell you," Williams said. "It was definitely legendary. I kind of lost my cool a little bit."

Wozniacki, who had a perfect 3-0 record in the group stage, took the opening set in 26 minutes and held serve to open the second.

"I really thought she was going to win because she was playing so well," Williams said. "She had a whole new strategy. I finally was able to kind of figure it out in the second and then I just was able to play better."

"It clicked today. I thought 'Ha! I got you now.'"

The momentum had shifted and, three games later, Williams created her first break points of the match, converting to take a grip on the set, which ended on Wozniacki's double fault.

The third set went on serve until the ninth game when Wozniacki made the first break. She served for the match, but fell behind 0-30 and though she saved one break point, she couldn't save the second.

Williams survived one break point on her serve to go up 6-5. Wozniacki then held serve under intense pressure in the 12th game, saving one match point in a dramatic rally.

She started the tiebreaker confidently, but the relentless Williams wore her down with powerful serves and groundstrokes.

"Being so close and still losing, it really sucks," Wozniacki said. "It was just small things, but that is why champions are champions. All of them step up when it matters."

Halep won five straight games in the first set to quickly assume a grip on the match that she never relinquished.

Halep, who said "everything went perfect today," compared her current form favorably against that which saw her reach the French Open this year in her first Grand Slam final appearance.

"I am very close to that level, maybe better," Halep said.

Radwanska took only four points off Halep's first serve for the match, which was over in just 67 minutes.

"She was very solid from the beginning," Radwanska said of Halep's performance. "No mistakes. Everything coming back. Changing line. Deep balls. Serving very well. Everything was working for her today."

The irony of Sunday's final is that Williams only qualified for the semifinals because Halep dropped a set in her final group match against Ana Ivanovic. Had the already-qualified Halep won that match in straight sets, Ivanovic would have made the semifinals at Williams' expense.