Serena Williams, who needed nearly a year to recover from surgery, is putting her best foot forward again and playing like a champion. Williams moved into the final of the Bank of the West Classic with an impressive 6-1, 6-2 victory over Germany's Sabine Lisicki on Saturday night. It's her first appearance in a final since winning the title at Wimbledon last year and her first final on American soil since losing to Victoria Azarenka in Miami in March of 2009. The unseeded and 169th-ranked Williams will meet third-seeded and ninth-ranked Marion Bartoli of France, who advanced when Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova withdrew from the other semifinal because of a strained abdominal muscle. Cibulkova said the injury has been bothering her all week. “It was painful when I played Marina (Erakovic), but I was able to get through that match,” she said. “I thought it would be better in the morning, but I saw a doctor and he recommended not playing since the injury could worsen.” Petrova wins title In Maryland, Russian Nadia Petrova captured her 10th career WTA title Sunday, defeating Israeli top seed Shahar Peer 7-5, 6-2 in the final of a $220,000 hardcourt tournament. The 32-year-old from Moscow was playing in her first final since last year at New Haven and took her first title since 2008 at Quebec City. Petrova was battling back after a struggle with vertigo for six weeks in March and April.
