STANFORD, Calif. -- After needing nearly a year to recover from surgery, Serena Williams is playing like a champion again. Williams moved into the final of the Bank of the West Classic with an impressive 6-1, 6-2 victory over Germanys Sabine Lisicki on Saturday night. "I feel like a kid again," Williams said. "When I was younger I had the goal of being in the top 100, then qualifying for a Grand Slam without a wild card. I have those goals again." Its her first appearance in a final since winning the title at Wimbledon last year and her first final on American soil since losing to Victoria Azarenka in Miami in March of 2009. The unseeded and 169th-ranked Williams will meet third-seeded and ninth-ranked Marion Bartoli of France, who advanced when Slovakias Dominika Cibulkova withdrew from the other semifinal because of a strained abdominal muscle. Bartoli beat Williams in the fourth round at Wimbledon, their last meeting. "She should be fresh and I will be ready," Williams said. "Its a whole new match and Im a better player than I was at Wimbledon. This is great progress and Im excited about my potential as I go forward." Lisicki played tight in the first set, which fed into Williams aggressive attack. "I have never played her before so I did not know what to expect," Lisicki said. "Im not used to having the ball come back at me so hard. It was a new experience, a learning experience." Williams was able to stay away from making too many mistakes, enabling her to play a strong ground game. "I have to be more consistent and I want to make fewer mistakes," Williams said. "I was trying to go for the shots when its right." Lisicki, like Williams, is coming back from an extended period away from the tour, missing five months last year because of a left ankle injury. "I came out not playing well," she said. "The important part for me was starting to play better in the second set. I dont know when the comeback ends. I just want to keep going." Cibulkova said the injury has been bothering her all week. "It was painful when I played Marina (Erakovic), but I was able to get through that match," she said. "I thought it would be better in the morning, but I saw a doctor and he recommended not playing since the injury could worsen." Cibulkova had the same problem earlier in the year, missing two tournaments after getting through the quarter-final at Madrid. "Maybe I rushed to play too quick," she said. "I dont want to make the same mistake." Cibulkova still plans to travel to San Diego, where she is scheduled to play Wednesday. "Its still open and Im hoping to be ready," she said. "I still have things to do in San Diego." Cibulkova, playing in her 100th career WTA main draw, is projected to rise from No. 19 to No. 16 in the WTA rankings by reaching the semifinal. She beat qualifier Marina Erakovic 6-1, 6-1 in the quarter-finals. "It was a great tournament for me," Cibulkova said. "I was looking forward to maybe winning my first tournament. I was so full of confidence." The ninth-ranked Bartoli reached her fourth final of the year and her third final at Stanford. She won the title in 2009. Bartoli reached the semis when Japans Ayumi Morita withdrew with an injury after the first set Friday night. "This has never happened to me but theres not much I can do about it," Bartoli said. "Its a shame Dominika had to be put out. It will be an extremely tough match tomorrow and I need to get ready." wholesale nfl jerseys . -- Tangible evidence of a job well done. jerseys from china . While Richards continues to recover from concussion-like symptoms, the Stars try to win three straight for the first time in over a month as they visit the Phoenix Coyotes, who are hoping to avoid a season-worst fourth consecutive setback this evening at Jobing. http://www.cheapjerseyssafe.com/ . Laura Fortino scored and Shannon Szabados made 24 saves as Canada defeated the U.S. 1-0 in an exhibition game Saturday night. The game was a tune-up for both teams as they prepare for the world championship in Burlington, Vt. cheap jerseys from china . He was 75. Corbetts daughter, Pamela Corbett Murrin, told The Associated Press that her father died peacefully in his sleep on Monday. She said he had not been sick recently. wholesale nfl jerseys . Hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup. "The process has to start now," CSA president Victor Montagliani said Thursday of a bid to stage "the grand-daddy of them all.MOSCOW -- Defending mens champion Viktor Troicki and top-seeded woman Vera Zvonareva advanced to the quarter-finals of the Kremlin Cup with straight-set victories on Wednesday, while Lucie Safarova upset second-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. The second-seeded Troicki beat Pere Riba of Spain 6-4, 6-4, while Zvonareva routed Bojana Jovanovski of Serbia, 6-1, 6-1. With a victory, Radwanska could have secured the last spot left for next weeks season-ending WTA Tour championships in Istanbul. Now she will have to wait for Marion Bartolis results in Moscow this week. Fresh from winning her seventh career title in Osaka, Japan, Bartoli is seeded third and needs to win the title here. Any other result for her will see Radwanska qualify directly for the first time after being a substitute in 2008 and 09. "She (Safarova) played a good match, while I was trying to adjust to the surface," said Radwanska, who was playing indoors for the first time this season. "I just hope that Vera (Zvonareva) will do me a favour and beat her (Bartoli) in the semis. Come on Vera!" Safarova broke in the ninth game of the first set, but the Pole levelled at a set apiece to force the decider. The 27th-ranked Czech broke decisively in the third set with a precise forehand crosscourt in the seventh game. She netted on her first match point, but won the second when Radwanska hit a backhand into the net. Also Wednesday, Kaia Kanepi of Estonia came from 5-1 down in a third-set tiebreaker to upset fourth-seeded Francesca Schiavone of Italy 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (7), and three-time winner Nikolay Davydenko, seeded fourth, defeated fellow Russian Teimuraz Gabashvili 7-5, 6-2. Troicki broke once in each set and sealed the victory on his first match point. The Serbian player will face Alex Bogomolov Jr. of the United States, who beat his doubles partner Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to aadvance.dddddddddddd "It was a tough match today," Troicki said. "It was tough to break him. He was serving always over 200 (kph). But I also served good." Last year, Troicki beat Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus in Moscow for his first career title. "I hope to do well to defend my title, but theres a lot of good players and I still have three matches to go to defend it," Troicki said. The fifth-seeded Bogomolov Jr., who was born in Moscow, broke his opponent once in the first set to take the lead, but stumbled in the second set, losing four games in a row at one point. He saved two break points before breaking Kukushkin in the third game of the decisive third set, and held on to win. Schiavone, who won here in 2009, saved two match points before her forehand landed just wide on the third one. "Id been down before (in the match), so I just kept playing to see what would happen," said Kanepi, who rallied back from an early break in the final set. Zvonareva, runner-up here in 2008, won nine consecutive games before Jovanovski held her serve in the fourth game of the second set. The Russian went on to finish the match in just over an hour. "From the stands the matched looked like an easy one," Zvonareva said. "But there were tough games in which I managed to stay concentrated. I didnt make consecutive unforced errors and didnt allow her to feel as if she was leading the play. And it was the key to my victory." The Russian, who has not played a competitive match since losing in the second round in Beijing two weeks ago, is using the tournament to prepare for next weeks season-ending WTA Tour championships in Istanbul. In the last two womens first-round matches, eighth-seeded Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia defeated Polona Hercog of Slovenia 6-3, 7-6 (3), while Elena Vesnina routed wild card Alla Kudryavtseva 6-0, 6-1. cheap jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '