Key Biscayne, Fla. — Venus Williams gambled by swinging all-out on shot after shot, and the strategy worked. She controlled the rallies, kept defending champion Martina Hingis on the defensive and won 6-3, 7-6 (6) Thursday in the semifinals at the Ericsson Open.
Williams avenged the most lopsided loss of her career, a 6-1, 6-1 drubbing against Hingis at the Australian Open semifinals in January.
In Saturday's final, Williams will bid for her third Key Biscayne title against the winner of today's match between No. 4 Jennifer Capriati and No. 7 Elena Dementieva.
No. 8 Pat Rafter beat Roger Federer 6-3, 6-1 in 58 minutes and will next play the winner of the quarterfinal match to be completed today between No. 3 Andre Agassi and Ivan Ljubicic. It was suspended because of rain with Agassi trailing 3-1.
Controversy engulfed the Williams family following Venus' withdrawal from the Indian Wells semifinal against her sister Serena on March 15. There was speculation she ducked the match, and when the crowd booed the family, her father, Richard, said the jeers were racially motivated.
"For me it's not really very difficult, because in my opinion all these things going on around me are not very important," she said. "Tennis is not all and everything for me, so I really have been able to keep my game under control."
The third-seeded Williams showed no effects of the knee tendinitis that she cited for her withdrawal at Indian Wells.
Hingis had distractions of her own: She's expected to testify Monday in the Miami trial of a man charged with stalking her. The Williams sisters and Lindsay Davenport won't have to testify in person at the trial, but they must submit affidavits by today.
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