Serena Williams returns to U.S. Open final

NEW YORK, Sept. 11 (UPI) -- Serena Williams swept past world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets Saturday and into the finals of the U.S. Open for the fifth time.

Williams, the No. 28 seed, defeated Wozniacki 6-4, 6-2 and set up a Sunday tournament finals against ninth-seeded Samantha Stosur. Stosur got past unseeded Angelique Kerber 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 in Saturday's first semifinal.

Williams is 22-2 since ending a near yearlong layoff while recovering from a series of injuries. She's won two of the five tournaments she's entered and was the pre-tournament favorite in New York even with a No. 28 seeding.

She is 4-2 lifetime versus Stosur with a win in the finals of the Rogers Cup last month. A recent rematch in Ohio failed to materialize as Williams withdrew.

Williams improved to 3-0 in her career versus Wozniacki with Saturday's win. She fired 11 aces and countered 34 unforced errors with 34 winners. Wozniacki managed just five winners in the match.

Stosur played an extra set but only 20 more minutes in her semifinal. She ended the surprising run by Kerber, No. 92 in the world, by cashing in all three of her break-point chances in the third set.

Williams will be looking for her fourth U.S. Open title -- she won in 1999, 2002 and 2008 -- and 14th overall Grand Slam title. Stosur is in her second major tournament title match. She lost the final at the 2010 French Open to Francesca Schiavone.