ROME -- Venus Williams beat Arantxa Sanchez Vicario at her own game Saturday to reach the Italian Open final.

Williams outlasted the clay-court expert 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 in a grueling 21/2-hour marathon to set up a championship match against top-ranked Martina Hingis.

"I wanted to

Venus Williams is 2-1 against Martina Hingis this year after losing to her in the 1997 U.S. Open final. (AP)

end it quickly, but we all know she likes to hit a lot of balls, a lot of lobs," Williams said. "No one likes to play a 21/2-hour match."

WILLIAMS WILL FACE HINGIS in Sunday's final at the Foro Italico in a match between the two hottest players on the tour. Hingis, who like Williams is 17 years old, routed Mirjana Lucic 6-2, 6-1 in the other semifinal.

After easily winning the first set against Sanchez Vicario and taking a 2-0 lead in the second, Williams faltered. Sanchez Vicario won seven straight games to win the second set and take a 1-0 lead in the third.

But the momentum turned after Williams took a 3-minute injury timeout so a trainer could apply tape just above her left knee.

"I was having trouble with the knee since yesterday," Williams said. "But I didn't have trouble with my movement, which is good, since that's a big part of my game."

Williams won the next game to even the set 1-1 and, after trading four straight breaks, the players held serve through the 10th game. But in the 11th, Williams earned a key break to go ahead 6-5 with the help of three unforced errors by Sanchez Vicario.

FOUR MORE MISTAKES ALLOWED Williams to serve out the match and beat Sanchez Vicario for the first time.

Williams won the first set in 34 minutes and went ahead 2-0 in the second, gaining a service break on a perfectly executed backhand pass that had the two-time French Open champion lunging at the other side of the net.

Against a player nine years her junior, Sanchez Vicario seemed demoralized and slow-moving under the hot sun despite her reputation as a fighter.

But she quickly turned things around, winning seven straight games as Williams double-faulted, sprayed her powerful forehand and misjudged several of the Spaniard's high lofting moon balls, which were designed to change the pace.

The match was starting to resemble an earlier meeting between the two in 1994 when Williams, in her second pro match, took a 6-2, 3-1 lead against Sanchez Vicario before collapsing.

THIS TIME, THE ENDING was different.

Hingis had no such drama against Lucic

"Today I was just unbelievable," Hingis said.

Hingis and Williams have the best records on the tour. The Swiss is 29-3 and the American 27-3.

They have met three times this year, with Williams winning twice.

"It seems like we play each other every tournament," Hingis said.