Williams and Safarova to play in Charleston final

Lucie Safarova

Though she's especially good on clay, Lucie Safarova probably wasn't picked by many fans to advance to the Family Circle Cup final. But the transition from hard courts to clay courts--which officially takes place in Charleston--isn't easy, and the unexpected happens. Safarova has played at a high level all week, taking out Mirjana Lucic, Aleksandra Wozniak, Vera Zvonareva, and Polona Hercog.

Now the Czech player faces a big challenge. Her opponent in the final is Serena Williams, whose path to the final included wins over 2011 finalist Elena Vesnina, Marina Erakovic, 2009 champion Sabine Lisicki, and 2010 champion Sam Stosur.

Williams leads Safarova 4-0 in their head-to-head. The two have never before met on a clay court.

Safarova will also play, with doubles partner Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, in the doubles final. The wild card pair took out both the defending champions and the top seeds this week. Their opponents in the final will be Anabel Medina Garrigues and Yaroslava Shvedova.