In a much anticipated semifinal, American and home favourite Venus Williams takes on Belgian and defending champion Kim Clijsters in a battle of two time US Open champions. There are a lot of other similarities between both contestants. Apart from both of them being two time winners here in Flushing Meadows, they both have 6 wins over each other, they almost have the same number of WTA titles, and finally, they both beat French Open finalists in their respective quarterfinals. However, when it comes to the playing style, the major difference starts to come to the surface. Where Venus relies on sheer power and serve, Clijsters puts in all her efforts on exceptional court coverage and consistent shotmaking.

Now lets talk about them individually. Venus Williams has not registered even a single win in the past 4 meetings with the Belgian. She looked in awe-inspiring form at this year's Sony Ericsson Open in Miami before being overwhelmed by Clijsters in an error prone final. Her pre-quarterfinal loss to Clijsters at the Open last year also came as a huge disappointment, thereby forcing father Richard Williams to advice his elder daughter to put in her energies more on staying fit, rather than over crushing balls in rallies, one habit that brings a lot of unforced errors from the American's racquet. Williams, who last won the title in Flushing Meadows in 2001, is also seeking her first slam victory since the 2008 Wimbledon, a long wait that has been stretched to nine slams. The only impressive aspect of Williams' 2010 season is her back-to-back title triumphs in Dubai and Acapulco. Final finishes in Miami and Madrid helped her reach the second spot in WTA rankings once again and gave fans a new lease of hope that the veteran is perhaps down, but certainly not out.

Williams' road to semifinals -

R128 def. Roberta Vinci 6-4, 6-1
R64   def. Rebecca Marino 7-6(3), 6-3
R32   def. Mandy Minella 6-2, 6-1
R16   def. Shahar Peer 7-6(3), 6-3
QF    def. Francesca Schiavone 7-6(5), 6-4

Clijsters, on the other hand, has been extremely consistent on tour this year. She opened the year with a win in Brisbane and reigned supreme in Miami. Clijsters then suffered a series of injuries due to which she missed the French Open and the related tune up events. The onset of her favourite American hardcourt season brought more success for the Belgian star who claimed the third title of the year in Cincinnati with a thwacking three set win over Maria Sharapova.The factor which is in favour of Clijsters during this fortnight in New York is her CONFIDENCE. With every single match passing, the Belgian has shown her ability to outsmart her opponents in long rallies and witty net play. In her best performance at this year's Open so far, Clijsters outmuscled an in-form French Open finalist Samantha Stosur in three grinding sets to make the semifinals. Although, behind this picture-perfect run to the semifinals is one aspect that is surely a bit of a concern for the defending champion, the increasing number of unforced errors. Unlike her near-perfect execution of groundstrokes, Clijsters has struggled a lot due to inconsistent shotmaking and erratic play. Her Grand Slam performance hasn't been very upto the mark either. A third round loss in Australia, followed by a miss in Paris and a quarterfinal loss on green grass has certainly brought her mental strength slightly down.

Clijsters' road to Semifinals -

R128 def. Greta Arn 6-0, 7-5
R64   def. Sally Peers 6-2, 6-1
R32   def. Petra Kvitova 6-3, 6-0
R16   def. Ana Ivanovic 6-2, 6-1
QF    def. Samantha Stosur 6-4, 5-7, 6-3

Now comes the most difficult part of the preview - picking a winner. Every writer tends to go by what his/her mind says in predicting the result. However, in my case, there is no tussle between my mind and my heart. Both echo only one name, Venus Williams. After suffering four consecutive losses, Williams finally looks ready to beat Clijsters and enter the final of the US Open after a long wait of eight years. It's interesting though, Williams has only suffered losses to eventual champions during these years, co-incidentally twice to Clijsters in 2005 and 2009. This time around though, Williams seems hungrier of the two to clinch title glory, one aspect that eluded Williams' preparations for the slams in the past.

TennisEarth.com's Pick - Venus Williams in three entertaining sets.

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