STANFORD, California (Reuters) - American Venus Williams crushed Russian Elena Dementieva 6-0 6-1 in the semi-finals of the Stanford Classic on Saturday.
Williams will face Marion Bartoli in the final after the Frenchwoman battled to a 6-3 1-6 6-1 victory over Australia's Samantha Stosur.
Second seed Williams nailed 20 winners and converted 16 of 18 approaches at the net to ensure she reached the Stanford final for the seventh time in eight appearances.
"I felt like everything went well for me today," said the 29-year-old, who won the tournament in 2000 and 2002. "I was able to raise my level on important points."
Seven-times grand slam champion Williams has not won a U.S. outdoor hardcourt tournament since 2002 but according to third seed Dementieva, if she continues to play in the same manner as she had over the past two days, that streak will end shortly.
Williams had also demolished three-times grand slam champion Maria Sharapova 6-2 6-2 in the quarter-finals.
"I usually like to play long rallies but she was just too good from the baseline," Dementieva told reporters.
"She was powerful and very solid. I was always in trouble."
Williams said she thought she was playing better now than she had done in 2002, when she won the Stanford, San Diego and New Haven titles before her sister Serena ended her 19-match unbeaten streak in the final of the U.S. Open.
" I'd like to think I'm smarter, faster, stronger and better," Venus said. "It still would be a tough match with the Venus of '02, but I'm betting on the Venus of '09."
The eighth-seeded Bartoli put on a return of serve clinic against the powerful Stosur, punching back her first serves and laying waste to a number of her second serves.
The 14th-ranked Frenchwoman, who also reached the Stanford final last year, was also far more consistent from the baseline during the third set.
She ended the contest with 21 unforced errors to a whopping 37 from Stosur.
"She was unbeatable in the second set," Bartoli said. "I was waiting for the opportunities to come in third set and once I broke her, I was a lot more comfortable and I was able to win a lot of tough points on defense."
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