Dubai, UAE  - French surprise packet Virginie Razzano will relax with her boyfriend and a calming glass of beer before facing Venus Williams for the title at the Barclays Championships on Saturday.

The number 58 with two career titles from 2007 is not one to worry too much about the immediate future after crushing Kaia Kanepi of Estonia 6-1, 6-2.

Venus Williams advanced over her world number one sibling as they met for the 19th time, winning 6-1, 2-6, 7-6 (7-3).

The American pair continued their near-perfect symmetry, with Venus claiming the honours for the second straight time after a victory in the round-robin of the season-ending championships in Doha last November.

The winner stormed through the first set as her sister managed only ten points in 18 minutes. But Serena squared the match at a set each before the contest went to its logical conclusion in a tiebreaker.

The building pressure does not bother Razzano.

"I'll enjoy my boyfriend, have a nice dinner and a nice beer," said Razzano, who professed that she was not surprised at her feat this week at one of the major events on the regular Tour calendars.

"I had a beer last night and it really relaxed me, I'll try that again. When I get onto court and after the warm-up, then maybe I'll think a bit about the final.

"I want to digest my victory, enjoy it," said the finalist who broke Kanepi six times as she raced to victory in just 63 minutes.

Razzano never looks at her draw, preferring to only know her opponent of the next round. "It's not superstition, it's just how I like to do it, match-by-match."

The outsider, who put out world number two Dinara Safina in the second round and followed up with fifth seed Vera Zvonareva, said she is pleased with her week so far in the Gulf.

"I prepared well for this season and I'm trying to schedule better. I'm taking time between my events and trying to do well when I do play.

"I think I have the tennis to beat players in the top 10. I'm happy today and I have a lot of motivation." (dpa)