Serena Williams is through to her ninth Miami Masters final after beating Maria Sharapova at Crandon Park on Thursday.
Defending champion Williams trailed early on in the match before powering her way past her Russian opponent in straight sets 6-4 6-3.
Sharapova had worked an early lead, breaking in the fourth game of the opening set and led 4-1 at one stage.
But her advantage was short-lived as Williams reeled off five games in a row to close out the set.
The fourth seed broke Williams again in the second game of the second set to steal an early advantage, but any momentum gained was immediately lost as the world No. 1 broke back in the very next game.
Further breaks in the seventh and finally the ninth game sealed Sharapova’s fate, dashing hopes that she could break her duck in a tournament where she has finished runner-up on five occasions.
“It wasn’t easy,” Williams said afterwards. “Obviously Maria plays really well, and she’s done really well here, so I just decided I had to do a little better, stay focused and make more shots.”
This latest defeat is the Russian’s 15th in a row against the American — a sequence which stretches all the way back to 2004.
Williams will play either Dominika Cibulkova from Slovakia or China’s Li Na in Saturday’s final.
In the men’s draw, Tomas Berdych battled past Ukraine’s Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-4 7-6 (7/3) in the third quarterfinal.
The big Czech will face the winner of Thursday’s evening match between Spain’s Rafael Nadal and Milos Raonic of Canada.
World No. 2 Novak Djokovic and Japan’s Kei Nishikori, who beat Andy Murray and Roger Federer respectively in their quarterfinal ties, will contest the first semifinal on Friday.
