Radwanska not overawed by Williams

Agnieszka Radwanska became the first Pole for 75 years to reach a Wimbledon singles final and warned she will not be overawed by grass-court queen Serena Williams on Saturday.

Radwanska was still a teenager when she played Williams on the only two occasions they have met, so she was keen to play down the significance of those two matches, in which she won a combined total of just eight games.

"It was a long time ago," she said. "But it's always tough. She's a very tough opponent and hitting the ball very well. Of course she's playing great tennis on the grass."

It came as a thrill for Radwanska to make it to the final but now the 23-year-old has four-time champion Williams and the world number one ranking in her sights.

Beat Williams and the ranking will take care of itself, with Radwanska jumping two places to overtake Maria Sharapova, who cannot stay at the top, and Victoria Azarenka, whose defeat at the hands of Williams leaves her provisionally number one but vulnerable.

There will be critics ready to pour scorn on the ranking system if Radwanska, who had not reached a grand slam semi-final until this week, does claim the number one spot.

But Radwanska said: "I will do everything in my power to be number one."

Radwanska's post-match press conference was curtailed as she struggled to speak, apparently due to a dry throat. The strain of seeing off Angelique Kerber 6-3 6-4 on Centre Court earlier may have been having an impact.

While left-hander Kerber struck a powerful ball throughout, nobody in the women's game matches ferocity and precision quite like Williams.

"Every player is different, but most of the players are very powerful," Radwanska said. "I'm just going to try to mix up everything."