Venus Williams reaches her biggest final in nearly four years by sweeping Caroline Wozniacki in the Dubai semifinals. The 44th-ranked wild card will meet Alize Cornet in the final. The 26th-ranked Frenchwoman stunned her sister, world No. 1 Serena Williams, 6-4, 6-4, in the second semifinal.
Venus has won Dubai in her last two appearances in 2009 and 2010 and is riding a 14-match winning streak there. The seven-time Grand Slam champion has struggled for much of the past four years — winning just five of her 44 titles in that span. She was officially diagnosed with the auto immune disease Sjögren's syndrome in 2011, but says she is managing it better now.
“I credit my losses for these wins,” said Venus. “You learn from your losses. The idea is to stay calm and go about the plan on court.”