Singapore (SportsNetwork.com) - Serena Williams and Simona Halep will battle for the title at the season-ending WTA Finals after both won semifinal matches on Saturday. The two met earlier this week in round-robin play, and the 6-0, 6-2 Halep rout in 65 minutes equaled the worst loss of Williams career. Williams will now get the chance to avenge that defeat and win a third straight title at the season-ending event. She advanced Saturday with a thrilling 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) victory over good friend Caroline Wozniacki in the first semifinal. Halep then rolled to a 6-2, 6-2 pounding of Agnieszka Radwanska in the second semi. Wozniacki had lost three previous matches to Williams this year and took the first set comfortably on Saturday, but the American star bounced back and won the second before the Dane grabbed the lead in the third with a break and served for the match at 5-4. Williams, though, broke serve and was on the cusp of winning in the 12th game with a break point, but Wozniackis volley after a lengthy rally saved it. The eventual tiebreaker produced even more heroics after Wozniacki opened a 4-1 lead. Williams next shot hit the tape and fell over, starting a run of five straight points. Facing two match points against, Wozniacki saved both. Williams then followed with an ace and converted the next point with a forehand return that Wozniacki could not handle to win the match. Caroline played a great match, it was really difficult today and I felt really bad because shes so amazing and so nice and in this tournament she really deserved to win, said Williams in an on-court interview after the match. So just congrats to her and thank you for playing so well and making it such a great match. Williams, who clinched the year-end No. 1 ranking on Friday, improved to 10-1 lifetime against Wozniacki, who went 3-0 in group play this week. Williams other three wins against Wozniacki this year came in the Montreal quarterfinals, the Cincinnati semifinals and most recently in the U.S. Open final. Played my heart out today! Wozniacki wrote on Twitter. Disappointing to lose such a close and tough battle but thank you Singapore for the support! Congrats to Serena! There was no drama in the second semifinal. Halep won five straight games during the first set and captured the first three of the second. She blasted 26 winners and Radwanska managed to win just four points against Haleps first serve during the 67-minute match. Im very excited to be in the finals, said Halep. I didnt expect this result here and Ive had to work very hard to play my best tennis here this week. Now, the Romanian will have the daunting task of trying to beat Williams for the second time in the same week. The group win was her first victory in four tries against the 18-time Grand Slam champion. Its a new day a new match so who knows whats going to happen there, added Halep. I know shell be more focused and I just want to enjoy the final. Halep won titles in Doha and Bucharest earlier this year. She is 8-5 all-time in finals, including 2-2 this year. Both losses came against Maria Sharapova -- first in Madrid and then at the French Open. Williams will be gunning for her 64th career title and fifth at this event. In addition to winning the last two WTA Finals titles, she also claimed the crown in 2009 and 2001, while finishing as the runner-up in 2002 and 2004. Adidas Prophere Suomi . Betancourt was 2-5 with a 4.08 ERA and 16 saves for the Rockies last season before tearing a ligament in his pitching elbow. He considered undergoing platelet-rich plasma therapy to fix his arm, but announced in August his decision to have Tommy John surgery. Adidas NMD R2 Ale .C. -- Benn Ferrieros familiar with scoring important goals, just not in back-to-back games. http://www.nmdhalvalla.com/adidas-eqt-halvalla.html .Y. -- The New York Islanders were seeking a positive finish to a frustrating season on home ice. Adidas NMD R1 Miehet . -- Maple Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf has been suspended two games for his hit from behind on Kevan Miller of the Bruins. Adidas NMD XR1 Suomi . The 7-foot-1 Hawes, who is in the final year of his contract, is averaging 13 points and 8.5 rebounds, both career highs, and shoots 40 per cent from 3-point range. The 25-year-old Hawes is in his seventh NBA season. AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Damian Lillard came spinning down the lane at the end of overtime and was blanketed by Rodney Stuckey, leaving Portlands guard had no choice but to fade to his right for a last-ditch shot. The ball dropped right through the basket, giving the Blazers a victory over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday night that seemed unlikely until the final minutes. "Stuckey did a great job, but they told me that I was going to have to make a double move to get anything off," Lillard said. "He blocked my first move, and I knew he wouldnt let me get to the basket, so I just spun off my other shoulder and put up a fadeaway. It felt good when I let it go, but a lot of shots felt good tonight and didnt go in." That one did -- with one tenth of a second left -- to lift the Trail Blazers to a 111-109 victory over the Pistons. Lillard scored eight of his 23 points in overtime. Detroit led by 13 early in the fourth quarter, but the Pistons looked out of sorts offensively down the stretch. Josh Smith scored 31 points, his most since signing with Detroit as a free agent in the off-season, but the chance for a big home victory against one of the leagues most impressive teams slipped away. "If this doesnt stink, I dont know what does," Smith said. "When I was in Atlanta and we were young and we were in a lot of ballgames, but late down the stretch we couldnt figure it out -- and then later we turned the corner." LaMarcus Aldridge scored 27 points for Portland. Moments before Lillards winner, Stuckey tied the game for Detroit with a shot from near the free throw line. Portland, which made 21 shots from 3-point range in Saturdays rout of Philadelphia, went 7 of 26 on Sunday. "That wasnt looking good for most of the second half," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. "But we got some big shots from Wesley Matthews and the defence really stepped up." Matthews scored 14 points and tied the game with 30.8 seconds remaining in regulation when he made two free throws. Detroit had the ball with 1.1 seconds left, but Kyle Singlers inbounds pass was stolen, sending the game to overtiime.dddddddddddd It looked like it might go to a second overtime, but Lillard was able to create a shot for himself even when his path to the basket was blocked. "It was the same play we had run three or four times in a row," Stotts said. "We spread the floor with shooters, gave Damian a ball screen and let him make a play." The Blazers led by 11 early in the second quarter, but Detroit rallied behind Smith and fellow big men Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond to take a 51-50 lead into halftime. Smith is shooting 26 per cent from 3-point range this season, and the presence of Monroe and Drummond has seemed only to encourage him to shoot more from the perimeter. But he attempted only two 3s on Sunday, and the Blazers couldnt handle him in the post for most of the night. Smiths old-fashioned three-point play made it 75-66 in the third, and Detroit led 84-73 heading into the final period. "For the most part, we did a very good job guarding pick-and-rolls," Pistons coach Maurice Cheeks said. "We pretty much took them out of 3-point shooting, which is what we talked about before the game. Aldridge, we knew he could be a handful down low." Detroit outscored Portland 68-42 in the paint, but the Blazers held the Pistons to 15 points in the fourth quarter and slowly chipped away at the lead. Nicolas Batum scored 18 points for the Blazers, including a 3-pointer with 6:48 remaining that cut the Detroit lead to four. It was tight the rest of the way after that in a matchup of two of the leagues best offensive rebounding teams. Detroit finished with 18 offensive rebounds, but Portland had 15. "I think those opportunities had been there all night, but we didnt start taking advantage of them until things got drastic," Portland centre Robin Lopez said. "Im really impressed with what we can do defensively when we pick it up. We havent peaked, because we still wait until the motivation is there, but when we needed it, we stepped up." NOTES: The Blazers missed their first six 3-point attempts. ... Smith shot 13 of 17 from the field. Drummond had 13 points and 14 rebounds. ' ' '