LONDON, July 4 (UPI) -- Serena Williams is now the No. 1 women's singles player in the world.
Williams, the second seed, fired seven aces and registered four service breaks Thursday in a 6-2, 6-1 semifinal rout of Amelie Mauresmo of France, the ninth seed.
By moving into her first Wimbledon final, Williams will take over the top spot in the WTA rankings on Monday from her older sister, Venus, whether or not she wins the championship. Venus will be her opponent in Saturday's final.
"It's just been a goal of mine," Serena Williams said. "It really feels great. I've really been working hard. I had a lot of injuries, especially in the beginning of the year. Things just weren't looking so up. I just decided to fight and things turned around for me."
Serena Williams has reached the final of the last three Grand Slam tournaments in which she's competed. The 20-year-old was sidelined at the Australian Open in January due to injury.
In a rematch of the 2001 final, the top-seeded Venus extended her winning streak at Wimbledon to 20 matches Thursday, powering past sixth-seeded Justine Henin, 6-3, 6-2, and advancing to her third consecutive final at the All England Club.
Venus needed three sets a year ago to become the fourth woman in the Open Era (since 1968) to win back-to-back Wimbledon crowns.
The Williams sisters will clash for the third time in the last four Grand Slam finals. Serena triumphed at the French Open last month, and Venus captured her second straight U.S. Open title in September.
Saturday's Wimbledon women's final will mark the first since the inaugural championship in 1884 to pit siblings against each other. Britain's Maud Watson defeated sister Lilian Watson in that contest.
"I think I've just grown mentally more than anything," Serena Williams said. "For a time I was a little over-confident. But now I'm thinking everyone is a fighter and they're going to fight me with as much strength as they have."
"I played at a very good intensity level. I lifted my game," she said. " Henin) played well but I was maybe more solid than she was. I was able to play the more important points better, the break points."
She said she thinks her groundstrokes made the difference against Henin. "I was returning serves better," she said. "She didn't get many free points and my ground shots, which haven't been that great ... were better today."
On the men's side, top-seeded Lleyton Hewitt of Australia wasted four match points in the third set, but worked out a 6-2, 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 1-6, 7-5 quarterfinal victory over No. 18 Sjeng Schalken of the Netherlands.
In a rematch of the Queen's Club grasscourt final in London last month, Hewitt will battle No. 4 Tim Henman of Britain in the semifinals.
Henman, the British No. 1 and local hero, converted five break-point opportunities on the way to a 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 win over unseeded Andre Sa of Brazil in their rain-delayed quarterfinal.
