Williams progresses into French Open final with a tough win over Bertens

While Garbine Muguruza pretty much eased past Samantha Stosur in the semifinal on Court Suzanne Lenglen, in the simultaneous singles semifinal on Court Philippe Chatrier Serena Williams had to work hard to end Kiki Bertens' Roland Garros fairytale, just like in her yesterday's quarterfinal encounter with in-form Yulia Putintseva.

The world No.58 Bertens broke Williams' serve in the opening game of the match and miraculously held on to that early advantage all the way to having a set point on her own serve at 5-4. Having not capitalized on that outstanding chance, Bertens' fate was pretty much sealed, as it is a well-known fact that you get at most one chance to shake Williams' resistance.

Afte…