Venus crushes top seed Safina

LONDON (Reuters) - Venus Williams will play her sister Serena in Saturday's Wimbledon final after a crushing 6-1 6-0 victory over top seed Dinara Safina of Russia on Thursday.

Venus's place in an eighth final, and fourth against her sister, was never in doubt as the Russian failed to come to terms with Williams's powerful hitting from the back of the court in a match which lasted just 51 minutes.

"This is my eighth final and a dream come true to be here again and have the opportunity to hold the plate up," the five-time champion said in a courtside interview.

"She's (Safina) so talented and she's played so consistently in the last year and I went out there and was able to really stay focused. I have so much experience on this court it helps a lot."

The match opened before a half-full Centre Court as the crowd sought shade and refreshment after Serena's almost three-hour victory over Russia's Elena Dementieva in the day's first semi-final.

Venus didn't seem to mind the lack of attention as she raced to a 5-0 lead and sealed the opener after just 27 minutes.

Safina, still chasing her first grand slam crown, never got into her stride and was immediately broken in the second and the end came when the Russian hit a backhand return into the net.

The lopsided win was in sharp contrast to sister Serena's 6-7 7-5 8-6 win over Dementieva in a pulsating clash before a sultry Centre Court.

"It was so hard before my match to watch all that drama but the hardest part is next to come to play Serena Williams so I'm hoping I can win," Venus said.