Serena battles to Key Biscayne final

KEY BISCAYNE, Florida -- Defending champion Serena Williams battled injury and scorching Florida temperatures to beat third seed Svetlana Kuznetsova 3-6 7-5 6-3 in the Key Biscayne semifinals.

Williams, who has won the tournament four times, will face Jelena Jankovic in the final after the Serb beat Vera Zvonareva of Russia 6-1 6-4.

Williams had been irresistible in putting out world number one Justine Henin for the loss of two games in the previous round, but was kept on court for over two and three quarter hours to see off her Russian opponent.

Eighth-seeded Williams was hampered by a back injury during the first set and received assistance from the trainer before falling behind as she tamely netted a return.

Kuznetsova held two break points in the opening game of the second set, but Williams showed her fighting qualities to stave off the threat and gain a foothold in the match.

Trailing 5-6 and facing set point on her own service, Kuznetsova fluffed the easiest of winning volleys to allow her American opponent to level at one set all.

Both players were allowed a 10 minute break before the deciding set because of the extreme heat and humidity and the qualifty of play suffered because of a swirling wind.

But after five successive breaks of service, Williams finally held to lead 3-2 and was never headed.

She finally broke again to lead 5-3 and successfully served out with victory coming on her first match point.

It avenged the victory of 2006 Key Biscayne champion Kuznetsova over her sister Venus in the quarterfinals of this year's tournament.

Jankovic is somewhat fortunate to be in the final after barely surviving her opening match. In the third set against Sofia Arvidsson, she overcame a 5-1 deficit, then saved five match points in a tiebreaker.

"It was a good thing for my confidence to get through the match in that way," Jankovic said. "Playing the way I'm playing now, it's really amazing, so I just hope to continue like this."

She has won every set in her past four matches to reach the final for the first time. Jankovic is 3-2 against Williams, including a victory in their most recent meeting at this year's Australian Open. E-mail to a friend