Williams’s ferocity sure to present stern test to Radwanska

The sixth-seeded four-time champion bludgeoned the highly-fancied second seed Victoria Azarenka off court with a scintillating display of serving and power hitting, winning 6-3 7-6 (8/6) to stand just one win away from a fifth SW19 singles title.

She sent down 24 aces against the Belarusian – one more than the Wimbledon record she set on Saturday – and landed 45 winners in a performance that even eclipsed the one she produced to dethrone defending champion Petra Kvitova at the quarter-final stage.

Agnieszka Radwanska now lies in wait for the 30-year-old who, after a fight back to form and fitness after almost a year out, is thrilled to be back on the big stage.

“I’m so excited, I really wanted this,” she said.

“Vic is a great player, she played really well and I got tight at times in the second set, just looking too far ahead and getting excited.

“It got so close in that second set. I’m just happy to have got through that tie-break.”

Radwanska became the first Pole for 75 years to reach a grand slam final and warned she will not be overawed by Wimbledon queen Williams tomorrow.

The name Jadwiga Jedrzejowska does not possess the same resonance around the All England Club as Bunny Austin or Fred Perry, the last Britons to reach the Wimbledon final and to win the title, respectively.

But Radwanska knew all about her illustrious late compatriot, who reached finals at Wimbledon, the French Open and the US Open in the late 1930s. Her Wimbledon run came in 1937, with Britain’s Dorothy Round her conqueror in three sets.

It came as a thrill for Radwanska to match her Wimbledon feat but now the 23-year-old has four-time champion Williams and the world No 1 ranking in her sights.

Beat Williams and the ranking will take care of itself, with Radwanska jumping two places to overtake Maria Sharapova.

“I think I don’t really have anything to lose, so I’m just going to try my best,” said Radwanska who saw off Angelique Kerber 6-3 6-4.

Radwanska was a girls’ singles champion at Wimbledon in 2005, and would love to go one step further than Jedrzejowska and carry off the women’s title.