Serena toys with Clijsters

KEY BISCAYNE: From the start, Serena Williams had third-seeded Belgian Kim Clijsters on the defensive, sliding into the splits at the baseline in vain attempts to retrieve overpowering shots.

The manoeuvre made Clijsters look like a cheerleader, and in the end all she could do was join the applause for Williams. The world’s No. 1 player advanced to the final of the Nasdaq-100 Open and remained unbeaten in 2003 by winning 6-4, 6-2 on Thursday. Williams’ opponent today will be the winner of the all-American semi-final between No. 6-seeded Jennifer Capriati and No. 12 Chanda Rubin. Rain forced the postponement of that match. Williams defeated Capriati in last year’s final. “If I’m playing my best tennis, I don’t think anyone right now can beat me,” Williams said.

Earlier this year, Clijsters led Williams 5-1 in the third set of their semi-final at the Australian Open before losing, but this time she failed to muster much of a challenge. In men’s play, No. 9 Albert Costa of Spain was two points from victory when rain forced the suspension of his quarter-final match against No. 4 Roger Federer of Switzerland. Costa erased two match points and rallied to lead 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-5 with Federer serving at deuce when a light rain stopped play. The stadium crowd booed as the players left the court. Heavy showers began falling a short time later and continued for several hours, and the last quarter-final match between five-time champion Andre Agassi of the United States and No. 19 Younes El Aynaoui of Morocco was also postponed.

Williams’ performance underscored a discouraging reality for the rest of the WTA Tour: She can play less than her best and still drub a top opponent like Clijsters. Williams exceeded her norm with 37 unforced errors, including a handful of wild shots, and lost one point when she stumbled and fell to the hard court face first. “I’m not too happy with the way I played,” she said. “My serve wasn’t there at all. My returns were miserable. ... I don’t think I made too many of my shots, but I figured if I could just make a few of them, then I would be all right.”