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AFP

STANFORD, California - Serena Williams' march toward a fourth Women's Tennis Association title of 2008 came to a premature halt Saturday, as an injured knee and Canadian qualifier Aleksandra Wozniak proved too much for the top seed.

Williams retired with a left knee injury while trailing Wozniak 2-6, 1-3 at the 600,000-dollar hardcourt event in Stanford.

The Canadian will battle for the title against sixth-seeded Marion Bartoli of France, who defeated Japan's Ai Sugiyama 6-3, 6-3.

Williams, ranked fifth in the world, has come up empty in Grand Slams this year, including falling to elder sister Venus in the Wimbledon final. But she has had plenty of WTA success with three titles this year.

Wozniak, currently ranked 85th in the world, showed no sign that she was intimidated by the 26-year-old American.

After Williams won the opening game, Wozniak captured the next three and quickly closed out the opening set as her opponent started limping.

Williams had her left knee wrapped, but still was laboring early in the second set and retired 47 minutes after the match had begun.

"It was hurting in practice, and I didn't really practice for too long because of it," Williams said. "It didn't bother me until this morning, and during the match, it was getting worse. After I got off the court, it was really swollen.

"I'm not sure how long it'll take to heal. I've been playing a lot of tennis since Miami, especially for me, and these hardcourts can be tough on the body.

"My main goal now is being at the Olympics," Williams added. "I hope to stay healthy. I don't have any plans of not going to Beijing."

Wozniak, 20, won 70 percent of her service points and capitalized on three of four break chances to advance to just her second WTA final.

"I tried to stay focused on me," Wozniak said. "I knew I would play a big champion.

"I just wanted to play really aggressive, to take the ball as early as I could and come in when I could.

"In the middle of the first set, I saw her watching a little bit her leg," Wozniak added. "I thought it was her ankle, but in the end it was the knee."

Wozniak will be attempting to capture her first singles title on Sunday when she takes on Bartoli.

The French player took a huge step toward getting her season revved up on Friday, when she upset second seed and defending champion Anna Chakvetadze of Russia in the quarters, and claimed her first victory over Sugiyama after five defeats.

The 23-year-old Bartoli, a surprise finalist at Wimbledon last year, reached her first final of 2008.

Sugiyama was up a break in the opening set and leading the fourth game 40-0, when she let Bartoli back in.

The Japanese veteran lost the game, leveling the set at 2-2 after her fourth double fault of the match.

Bartoli went on to win the set, and took the second without dropping her serve.