Sydney International: Serena Williams advances to semifinals

World number one Serena Williams took exactly an hour to dispatch Russia’s Vera Dushevina 62 62 to reach the Sydney International semifinals.

A forehand error and a double-faulted serve on the Russian’s end eventually led to American’s victory at a breezy day at the Olympics venue.

The Sydney tournament was Williams’ first tournament since her victory at last season’s year-end Sony Ericsson Championships. This is also her only warmup tournament leading to next week’s Australian Open, where she’s the defending champion.

Up next for Williams is Aravane Rezai of France, who advanced after beating Italy’s Flavia Pennetta 63 60.

“I always try to get there usually around the semifinals and finals of the Grand Slams. I’m just doing the best that I can now to get there. Hopefully I have long way to go, which I think is always good,” Williams said after the match.

Victoria Azarenka of Belarus reached the semifinals after defeating Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia. Her next opponent will either be Elena Dementieva or second-seed Dinara Safina.

Spice up your sports and tennis online video stream viewing by betting on your favorite team | players. Find out more here. Watch Tennis Matches Live Online! Lists are updated regularly Spice up your live sports online video stream viewing by betting on your favorite team | players. Find out more here.