Venus to face Rezai in Madrid final

MADRID, May 15 (UPI) -- U.S. tennis star Venus Williams will meet France's Aravane Rezai in the Madrid Open finals after both won semifinal matches Saturday.

Williams, the fourth seed, had little trouble defeating Israeli Shahar Peer 6-3, 6-0 at the Magic Box in Madrid. She notched her fifth career victory against Peer with no defeats, all of them coming in straight sets.

With the win, Williams advanced to her fourth final of 2010. Earlier this year, she repeated as champion at Dubai and Acapulco, while losing to Kim Clijsters at Miami.

Rezai, meanwhile, earned her Madrid finals berth when Czech Lucie Safarova retired with a left thigh injury after losing the first set 6-1.

She is looking for her third career WTA tour championship after winning at Strasbourg and Bali last year. She and Williams have split their two all-time meetings.