Williams obliterates Makarova to advance to 4th straight U.S. Open final

This one was over before it started. 

World No. 1 and two-time defending U.S. Open champion Serena Williams entered her semifinal match with No. 17 Ekaterina Makarova focused and hungry, and, as Makarova and many before her can attest, there's not much you can do when you're up against a focused and hungry Serena Williams. 

It took all of 59 minutes for Williams to dispatch Makarova, 6-1, 6-3, and move through to her fourth consecutive U.S. Open final. She didn't need time, as she sometimes does, to settle in and find a rhythm. She was smoking her forehand from the outset. She had daggers in her eyes. 

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Williams cracked 24 winners to 15 unforced errors and stole more than half of Makarova's service points. Williams didn't even face a break point until she was serving for the match at 5-2 and inexplicably dropped four straight points after being up 30-0. But she recovered after the break, and broke Makarova right back, securing her place in the final with her 20th consecutive match win at Flushing Meadows. 

In the final, with a chance to become the first woman to win three straight U.S. Opens since Chris Evert did it 37 years ago, Williams will meet good friend Caroline Wozniacki, who took her to three tough sets in each of their last two meetings, in Montreal and Cincinnati. 

Serena leads their head-to-head 8-1.