Five-time champion Serena Williams wasted no time booking her berth in the WTA Miami final by steamrolling Agnieszka Radwanska 6-0 6-3 to set up a title clash with third seed Maria Sharapova.
Sharapova, a four-time runner up in Miami, was equally dominant as the newly-crowned Indian Wells winner hammered Jelena Jankovic 6-2 6-1 in the other semi-final on Thursday.
“Today my game wasn’t great but I had to keep trying,” Williams said. “I am excited because I am in the final.
“My family and friends are here so I have to do well. I can’t let my friends down.”
The 31-year-old Williams blasted 12 aces and won 83 per cent of her first serves in the 65-minute match against the fourth seeded Radwanska.
Williams is bidding to become just the fourth woman in the modern era to win the same event six times, joining Chris Evert, Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova. Evert is the only player over the age of 30 to win the title, doing so at the age of 31 years, two months in 1986.
“She (Sharapova) is playing so well. It will be a great match. We always have great matches,” Williams said of facing Sharapova.
Sharapova is in her fifth final in quest of her first Miami title.
“It would mean so much to me,” Sharapova said. “The fans give me so much support here. I love this city. It was the first city I came to in this country when I was a little girl and I would love to win.”
The four-time grand slam champion lost to Kim Clijsters in the 2005 Miami final, to Svetlana Kuznetsova in 2006, Victoria Azarenka in 2011 and Radwanska last year – all in straight sets.
Not only is Sharapova trying to end her Florida frustration, she is trying to become only the third woman to win both major March events, Indian Wells and Miami, in the same year.
Graf swept the pair in 1994 and 1996 and Clijsters did it in 2005.
In men’s action, reigning US Open and Olympic champion Andy Murray reached the semi-finals by ousting Croatian ninth seed Marin Cilic 6-4 6-3, shaking off two early exchanges of breaks to find his form.
“I played more solid as the match went on,” Murray said. “Once I got back on level terms in the first set I started to do better, so many long rallies, long points, long games.”
The Scottish second seed, who won the 2009 title and lost last year’s final, will face French eighth seed Richard Gasquet who surprised Czech fourth seed Tomas Berdych 6-3 6-3.