Tennis:Defending champion Serena Williams is set to meet world number three Jelena Jankovic in the Sony Ericsson Open Final after overcoming Svetlana Kuznetsova 3-6 7-5 6-3 .
Former world number one Williams, who was struggling with back trouble in the hot and humid conditions, is bidding to equal Steffi Graf's record of five Miami titles.
The American had been practically flawless in her last-eight victory over world number one Justine Henin but made 43 unforced errors against Kuznetsova.
Three of the first four games of the match were decided by service breaks with Kuznetsova gaining the upper-hand at 3-1.
Serving at 0-40 in the fifth game, Kuznetsova hit a crafty drop shot on the line that turned the game around for her and she went on to take a 4-1 lead.
Williams patiently waited out the second set where she finally
scored a service break in the 12th game at 15-40 when Kuznetsova
crashed an easy overhead into the net.
However, both players struggled to hold serve in the deciding
set.
Kuznetsova surrendered her serve in the eighth game after dumping a backhand into the net, putting Williams in a position to serve out for the match.
The American thumped down an ace to set up match point and then Kuznetsova sailed a backhand long.
Jankovic's march to the final is fairly remarkable considering she was nearly knocked out of the tournament in her first match, staving off five match points to overcome a 1-5 deficit in a deciding set against Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden. The Serbian beat Zvonareva 6-1 6-4 to reach the final.