Serena Williams from the U.S. reacts after winning a point during a match against Sara Errani from Italy at the Madrid Open tennis tournament, in Madrid, Saturday, May 11, 2013. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki) (The Associated Press)
MADRID – Top-ranked Serena Williams will have a chance to win her 50th career title after beating Sara Errani of Italy 7-5, 6-2 Saturday to reach the final of the Madrid Open.
After a skittish start, Williams dominated Errani and broke her final service game in both sets.
The defending champion improved to 5-0 against the seventh-ranked Errani and to 30-2 overall this year.
Williams will play the winner of the other semifinal between second-seeded Maria Sharapova and Ana Ivanovic. If Sharapova makes the final, the No. 1 ranking will also be at stake.
Later Saturday, Rafael Nadal played fellow Spaniard Pablo Andujar and Tomas Berdych faced Stanislas Wawrinka in the semifinals of the men's event.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.