Serena Williams beats Kuznetsova to reach Miami final

MIAMI (Reuters) - Defending champion Serena Williams battled to a 3-6 7-5 6-3 victory over world number four Svetlana Kuznetsova to reach the Sony Ericsson Open final on Thursday.

Williams will play the winner of Thursday night's other semi-final between world number three Jelena Jankovic and Vera Zvonareva in Saturday's final.

Williams, who had to cope with hot and humid conditions, is bidding to equal Steffi Graf's record of five title successes in the tournament.

(Editing by Trevor Huggins)