ranked Victoria Azarenka in the final of the Madrid Open after both players dispensed with their rivals in straight sets Saturday. Serena beat Lucie Hradecka 7-6 (5), 6-0 on the blue-clay court and Azarenka ousted fourth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska 6-2, 6-4. The ninth-ranked Serena edged out the tenacious Czech to play for her second title of the season. Azarenka has won four tournaments so far this season. Serena struggled with her serve in the first set that she won in a tiebreaker. She then broke Hradecka three times in the second to cruise to her 12th consecutive win on clay this season. The 105th-ranked Hradecka had earlier beaten defending champion Petra Kvitova and US Open winner Sam Stosur to reach the semifinals. Azarenka was in good form and had little trouble beating Radwanska for the sixth straight time. Azarenka hit a deep return to set up a slam and break her Polish opponent's first service game, and went on to hit 14 winners and held for love to wrap up the first set. The players traded a pair of breaks in the second set before Azarenka, the runner-up last year, won a decisive third break with a crosscourt return. “I'm really happy. All the top players are here and I'm in the final and looking forward to it,” said the 22-year-old Belarusian. “(Radwanska and I) keep meeting each other. I'm glad to win today. The score maybe wasn't so close, but it was a good match.” In the men's semifinals, Roger Federer will face Janko Tipsarevic, and Tomas Berdych will play Juan Martin del Potro later Saturday. On Friday, Novak Djokovic's frustration with the controversial blue clay reached new heights after the world No. 1 was beaten 7-6, 6-3 by fellow Serb Janko Tipsarevic in the quarterfinals Friday. Djokovic and world No. 2 Rafa Nadal, who was dumped out by Spanish compatriot Fernando Verdasco Thursday, have complained bitterly all week about the slippery nature of the showcourt surface. The top-ranked Serb again looked ill at ease as his bid to retain the title he beat Nadal to win in 2011 ended in a whimper while Tipsarevic secured a semifinal meeting with Roger Federer. Djokovic and Nadal have threatened not to return next year unless the traditional red courts are reinstated. Tournament organizers have blamed the slick surface on excessive pressing that prevents the clay from penetrating the hard base. Watched by Real Madrid soccer players including Cristiano Ronaldo and Xabi Alonso, the 16-time Grand Slam singles champion Federer sealed a 6-4, 6-4 victory with his seventh ace as he continued the pursuit of his fourth title this year. Tomas Berdych brought local favorite Verdasco, whose win against Nadal was his first in 14 attempts, crashing back to earth when he thrashed the 15th seed 6-1 6-2. The sixth-seeded Czech set up a semifinal against Juan Martin Del Potro. The 2009 US Open champion eased to a 6-3 6-4 victory over Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov. Fastest serve Australian Samuel Groth, the world No. 340, has broken the record for the fastest serve in tennis with a serve of 263km/h during a Challenger Tournament in Busan, South Korea, the ATP announced Saturday. The record had been held by giant Croat Ivo Karlovic, who fired down a 251km/h serve during a Davis Cup match against Germany in March 2011. Groth, 24, broke the record during a defeat by Belarusian Uladzimir Ignatik in the second round of the tournament. During the match, he also produced serves timed at 253.5km/h and 255.7km/h.
