Top seed Venus Williams entered the final of the WTA Korea Open, cruising past Flavia Pennetta 6-2, 6-2 in Seoul on Saturday.
World No 9 Williams will take on Maria Kirilenko. The Russian beat Eleni Daniilidou of Greece 7-5, 6-0 in the day's other semi-final.
Williams took the first set in 36 minutes, but her Italian opponent, the only unseeded player in the semi-finals, put some early pressure on the top seed.
Pennetta broke the American's serve at the start of the match and had a chance to go up 2-0 up, leading 40-15 in the second game. But Williams, the reigning Wimbledon champion, came back with four straight points to break the Italian's serve.
Williams conceded the opening game of the second set, but promptly broke Pennetta's serve and did not look back.
Venus, serving as fast as 201 kilometres per hour, went on to take six of the last seven games to secure her berth in the final.
"My leg's not feeling great but it's getting better every day," Williams said. "I don't get to play in Seoul often, so I am trying my best. My goal all along has been to win the tournament."
The deflated Pennetta frequently shook her head and muttered to herself in disgust during the second set.
In the day's second semi-final, Kirilenko had a see-saw first set against defending champion Daniilidou, winning the first three games and then losing the next three before prevailing 7-5. The Russian made quick work of the Greek in the second set, winning it 6-0.
