Defending champion Venus Williams ended the run of unseeded Israeli Shahar Peer on Friday to reach the final of the Dubai tennis championship. The third-seeded American won 6-1 6-4 in a match that began as a one-sided canter for Williams but ended as a battle with Peer threatening to extend the match into a third set.
In Saturday's final, Williams will meet the winner of the second semi-final, being played later on Friday between fourth seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus and seventh-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland.