LONDON (Reuters) - World number one Victoria Azarenka bounced back from her semi-final thrashing to claim bronze in the Olympic tennis women's singles at Wimbledon on Saturday, defeating Russia's Maria Kirilenko 6-3 6-4 in an hour and a half.

The Belarussian, who won just three games in her Friday defeat by America's Serena Williams, took an early lead against Kirilenko on a blustery Court One.

Kirilenko made her opponent work, fighting back to level the score more than once but she was ultimately overpowered by Azarenka, who fell to her knees as the Russian netted the ball to hand her the victory.

Fellow Russian Maria Sharapova will play Williams in the final later, where both women will be looking to complete the "golden slam" of all four majors and an Olympic singles gold.

(Reporting by Kylie MacLellan)