Serena fails to enter final; Bartoli through

In Stanford, California, Serena Williams had a bad day, as she was defeated by an injury and had to retire from her match against Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak after losing the first set 62 and losing the second 31. It was definitely no luck for the American, as she suffered from a left knee injury.

Wozniak, the Canadian No. 1, had come through the qualifying rounds and on the way to the final, she beat No. 8 seed Francesca Schiavone in the first round. She was solid enough to win to the injured Serena and to enter the final, 62 31.

"In the middle of the first set she started looking at her legs and I wasn't sure what was bothering her," Wozniak said. "I was really just focusing on me and my game, and staying aggressive. I knew I was playing a big champion today so I had to keep my cool. You have to play your best against players like Serena.

"The way the match ended was unfortunate, but I'm happy to reach my second final. My first final was at a Tier IV event on clay last year. And coming out of the qualifying is not easy, because I've played a lot of matches in one week."

Wozniak could become the fifth Canadian ever to win a Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles title, following Patricia Hy-Boulais (at Taipei in 1986), Helen Kelesi (1986 Tokyo), Carling Bassett-Seguso (1987 Strasbourg) and Jill Hetherington (1988 Wellington). Canadians have been runners-up 11 times, including Wozniak falling to Milagros Sequera at the aforementioned Tier IV in Fès last year.

Williams didn't start to struggle at the start of the match. It start early in the day.

"It was hurting in practice and I didn't really practice for too long because of it," Williams said. "It didn't bother me until this morning, and during the match it was getting worse. After I got off the court it was really swollen. I'm not sure how long it'll take to heal. I've been playing a lot of tennis since Miami, especially for me, and these hardcourts can be tough on the body."

Williams wasn't sure had bad the injury was, but she hopes she will be recovered enough to the enter the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.

"My main goal now is being at the Olympics. I hope to stay healthy. I don't have any plans of not going to Beijing."

Bartoli gets lucky; awaits Wozniak in final

Wozniak will next take on Marion Bartoli, who was powerful enough to finally get revenge and beat Ai Sugiyama 63 63 in the semis after having a 0-5 record in head-to-head results. Bartoli was struggling in their last five meetings, which all ended in straight sets in favor of Sugiyama.

"The last time we played each other, I was not on the same level," Bartoli said. "I was not moving as fast as I'm moving right now, and I was making a lot more unforced errors. I was not hitting the ball as well as I am right now."

They had played since 2006, and their first four meetings were played before the Frenchwoman was even in the Top 60.

"Everything in my game has improved," Bartoli added. "I think I played really well tonight; maybe even better than yesterday at some points. She gave me a hard time. She was hitting the ball really early, playing flat and moving so well. It's always difficult to beat someone when you've lost five times before."

Bartoli and Wozniak will meet for the first time, Bartoli at the age of 23 and Wozniak at the age of 20.

"I will try to focus on my game first," Bartoli said. "I know pretty much nothing about her game so I will try to be as aggressive as today. I think if I play like today, it will be a great match."