Seventh-seeded Briton Tim Henman was a surprise loser, however, as he went out 7-6 2-6 7-6 to world number 64 Juergen Melzer at the Nasdaq-100 Open.
Clijsters completed her inexorable progress to Sunday's final with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Sugiyama.
US Fed Cup captain Zina Garrison has picked both Williams sisters in her squad to face Russia in next month's semi-final.
The eight-time Grand Slam champion shared some tips for alleviating sinus pain and getting on with an active lifestyle.
Aaron Michael Hammer (24) was charged with shooting the eldest sister of the tennis star as she was sitting in a car with a man.
Paths to the final in the women's singles at the U.S. Open (prefix denotes seedings)
Serena Williams' coach Patrick Mouratoglou has called on tennis governing bodies to come together and devise a way of helping lower level professionals struggling financially due to the coronavirus shutdown. The tennis season was halted in early March due to the pandemic, leaving players in the lower tiers who solely depend on tournament winnings without the opportunity to earn a living.
Fifth seed Serena Williams reached the Family Circle Cup final by beating French teenager Alize Cornet 7-5 6-3 on Saturday. The 26-year-old next faces ninth seed Vera Zvonareva, who upset fellow-Russian Elena Dementieva, the fourth seed, 6-3, 6-7, 6-3 in a wildly fluctuating semi-final.
Venus Williams' return to Indian Wells lasted just one match but sister Serena looked poised for a long run after a dominant win at the BNP Paribas Open on Friday. Venus returned to the event for the first time since 2001, having boycotted it after being booed and heckled by fans during her previous trip, but made a quick exit after a 6-4 6-3 defeat to Japanese qualifier Kurumi Nara in the second round. The 15-year-old incident had occurred when Venus withdrew from a semi-final match with Serena, drawing ire from the crowd aimed at the Williams family. This time, though, Venus was greeted warmly by the crowd before her match and throughout it, a consolation for her poor performance. "It was enough of a fairytale to come here and play," Venus told reporters. "A win would have been nice, but that means I have to come back, play next year."
World number one Serena Williams was battered into a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 submission by a fired-up Nadia Petrova in the third round of the Madrid Open on Wednesday.
Second seed Serena Williams recovered from match point down to beat Russian fourth seed Elena Dementieva 6-7, 7-5, 8-6 in a nailbiting semi-final at Wimbledon on Thursday.
Rafael Nadal thumped Canada's Milos Raonic while to capture his eighth ATP title this season while Serena Williams crushed Romania's Sorana Cirstea in the final of the Rogers Cup on Sunday.
Miami is one of the favourite stops on the WTA Tour because of the city's hip, youthful vibe but the final of Sony Open on Saturday was more about the golden oldies as Serena Williams and Li Na took centre stage.
The American started her Australian Open title defence with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Jarmila Gajdosova in the first round.
Serena Williams was in no mood to allow a painful tumble to divert her from her path to a sixth Australian Open title on Tuesday and duly delivered a resounding 6-0, 6-0 win to open her campaign at the year's first Grand Slam.
Serena Williams hit top gear in deposing champion Petra Kvitova and ominously for her Wimbledon semi-final opponent Victoria Azarenka the four-times champion says she has nothing to lose in the last-four clash on Thursday.
A despondent Serena Williams grudgingly faced reporters after her 7-6 6-1 defeat to top seed Justine Henin in Tuesday's quarter-finals of the U.S. Open, tears staining her cheeks after the bitter result.
Six months after she nearly died, Serena Williams finds herself carrying the hopes of a grieving nation at the US Open.
Venus Williams's encouraging form at the Australian Open has given younger sister Serena cause to look over her shoulder after the siblings eased into the third round with straight-sets wins at Melbourne Park on Thursday.
Ask Serena Williams about her dog, her stick-men self portraits or the quirky names she gives her multiple personalities and she will happily chew your ear off; mention her tennis and words are few and far between.
Serena Williams' decision to end a 14-year boycott of the BNP Paribas Open has been warmly welcomed by her peers with good friend and rival Caroline Wozniacki saying it was "great for tennis".
Justine Henin and Serena Williams will square up in a battle of former champions at the U.S. Open on Tuesday, while Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic headline the action in the men's event.
Serena Williams clinched one of the most dramatic victories of her career on Monday, battling crippling cramp to beat Daniela Hantuchova 6-2 6-7 6-2 in the fourth round at Wimbledon.
The imposter who did turn up got dragged into a two hour 11 minute tussle in which she failed to convert 11 of the 12 break points that fell her way.
The 21-year-old will play crowd favourite fourth seed Kim Clijsters in Thursday's semi-finals.
Roger Federer is back at Wimbledon a few weeks after winning his seventh title there, opening his bid for Olympic gold against Colombian Alejandro Falla.
Coco Gauff ended local heroine Lois Boisson's dream run at the French Open with a ruthless 6-1, 6-2 victory on Thursday to set up a final clash with top seed Aryna Sabalenka.
With the whiff of a fifth Wimbledon singles title in the air, grass court predator Serena Williams cut down defending champion Petra Kvitova to move ominously into the semi-finals on Tuesday.
Serena Williams plans to play fewer tournaments in the future to aid her quest to win more Grand Slam titles, according to her coach Patrick Mouratoglou.
Yetunde Price (31), eldest sister of Venus and Serena Williams, was on Sunday shot dead in Compton, near Los Angeles.
Serena Williams is receiving daily blood thinning injections to get rid of the clots that are still in her lungs, the former world number one revealed on Wednesday.
The former world number one is suffering from a knee injury.\n\n
Serena Williams' behaviour in Saturday's US Open final divided the tennis world after she called the chair umpire a "liar" and a "thief" and said he treated her differently than male players during her loss to Naomi Osaka.
Maria Sharapova made it to her maiden semi-finals of the French Open by beating fellow Russian Anna Chakvetadze 6-3, 6-4.
The triumph also lifted the 26-year-old back to the summit of the world rankings for the first time since August 2003 and this time she does not want to let go.
Top seed Nicole Vaidisova was dumped out of the Family Circle Cup on Tuesday in a second-round loss to Michaella Krajicek.
World No 1 Serena Williams fought her way to a 7-5, 7-5 win over defending champion Li Na to reach the final of the Western and Southern Open on Saturday and close in on one of the few titles to elude her.
