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KEY BISCAYNE - Serena Williams made a confession.
"I'm a reality-show freak," she said.
Her favorite is the Apprentice, in which rich guy Donald Trump destroys a young person's dream each week by uttering his famous words, "You're fired."
The Nasdaq-100 Open has its own version of the show, and coincidentally Williams is the star. On Thursday she fired another one. For those keeping track, that makes 17 straight victories in the event.
Thursday's win wasn't a clinic by any stretch, but Williams' 6-4, 6-4 win over Eleni Daniilidou was significant because it earned Williams a spot in the final of her first tournament since returning to the tour after an eighth-month absence because of knee surgery.
In Saturday's final she plays eighth-ranked Elena Dementieva, who easily defeated 11th-ranked Nadia Petrova 6-4, 6-2.
"I can't say that I didn't expect to reach the final," Williams said. But, she added, "I really, really am proud of myself because it's hard to come back. It's nerve-racking."
Williams, who dropped from first to sixth in the rankings because of the layoff but is the tournament's top seed, won this event the past two years. Thus far she has looked much like the Williams of old, in attire and form, wearing her revealing outfits and having dropped one set in five matches.
And while Williams called Thursday's win a step back, she did show some rust, committing 25 unforced errors and having her serve broken three times.
"I think I made a lot of errors today," Williams said. "I just kept making mistakes."
Despite the service breaks, Williams served well at times, finishing with seven aces and firing several at more than 100 mph.
"Serena today, she was just serving too good," Daniilidou said.
To Daniilidous' credit, the 21-year-old from Greece played much better than her No. 35 ranking would have predicted. But after not losing a set in reaching the semifinal (which included a win over Saddlebrook's Jennifer Capriati, an annual contender at the event), she couldn't overcome Williams' power and athleticism.
"She's really a great athlete," Daniilidou said.
Dementieva, a 22-year-old Russian, has three career titles, all last year. She upset Venus Williams on Wednesday to prevent an all-Williams final, then dominated Petrova, a player who has made a significant climb in the rankings the past 12 months.
"Its always very interesting to watch (Serena Williams) play," Dementieva said.
Serena Williams is 1-0 against Dementieva, and that 6-2, 6-2 win came at Wimbledon last summer, Williams' last event before dropping out of sight because of her injury.
"I think as far as I go right now, it's a major boost regardless of what happens (in the final)," Williams said. "Physically it's just a great boost. Mentally it's awesome to be in the final here my first time back since Wimbledon."
Williams' return has gone about as well as planned. And because her semifinal match was in the afternoon, it gave her time to relax, stay in at night and, of course, catch Thursday's edition of the Apprentice.
"I've watched it since the first episode," she said.