Serena Williams is on course to win the US Open title for a third time and with it regain the world no.1 ranking that she held for 57 consecutive weeks back in 2002 and 2003 when she dominated winning the 'Serena Slam' of all 4 Grand Slams, but not in the same calendar year.

A 6-3 6-2 dismisal of Dinara Safina to set up a final showdown with no.2 seed Jelena Jankovic who put out Olympic gold medallist Elena Dementieva 6-4 6-4, put Serena within touching distance of her ultimate dream. Jankovic who is looking for her first Grand Slam title could also climb to the top of the rankings having held the position for 1 week last month, adding to the intrigue of this the final Grand Slam of the year.

Serena was rarely troubled in her match with the tall Russian despite going down an early break at the start. Safina, constantly struggling to find consistency in the swirling windy conditions, could not cope with Serena's power and accuracy off the ground and made a total of 41 unforced errors.

Having won the opening set 6-3, Serena raced to a 4-1 lead, clinching the double break with a humdinger of a forehand cross court winner which the American celebrated with a shriek of delight. From there she strolled to a straight sets win, converting a total of 5/10 break points, and will start the clear favourite against Jankovic who she last beat in the final of the Sony Ericsson Open in March.

Andre Jones

Flushing Meadows

New York