Azarenka avenges Kerber loss to reach final

In-form Victoria Azarenka battled past an ailing but determined second seed Angelique Kerber to set up a Miami Open final showdown against Svetlana Kuznetsova with a 6-2 7-5 victory on Thursday.

With the victory, the 13th-seeded Belarusian gained revenge for a quarter-final loss to the second-seeded German at the Australian Open, her only defeat of the season, but had to fight tooth and nail to earn it in a 94-minute tussle.

Parity was short-lived, however, as Kerber handed back the break in the next game and Azarenka did not waste another opportunity to seal the deal to move one win away from a third Miami title and second straight tournament triumph.

"I am very happy I stayed really strong in the end and actually started really well," Azarenka, who beat Serena Williams to claim the Indian Wells title on March 20, said in a courtside interview.

"I started to dictate (early) and I think the beginning was really important," she added of the victory over the Australian Open champion.

KUZNETSOVA NEXT

"She's such a fighter and an amazing player. I'm glad I kept pushing and kept trying to break her rhythm. Glad I stayed really strong.

"For me it was really painful to watch my match from the Australian Open and I'm really glad that I corrected my errors there and improved my serve. Although there were a lot of breaks, when I needed it, it came strong."

As well as avenging the Melbourne defeat, Azarenka improved to 7-1 in head-to-head meetings against the German and took her 2016 record to an impressive 21-1.

Next up for the 26-year-old is Kuznetsova in the final, after the Russian held off a strong challenge from Switzerland's Timea Bacsinszky 7-5 6-3 in searing afternoon heat. The 15th-seed relied on a never-say-die attitude and a powerful baseline game as she improved her career record to 3-0 against the Swiss, ending the match with a crunching backhand crosscourt winner after nearly two hours on court.

"I am happy that I could hang in there and never let my hands down," Kuznetsova, who won the Miami title in 2006, said courtside.

"I have not been feeling my best but I have been fighting every ball and just trying to run as much as I could. "I was praying to finish it in two sets so I can have a little bit of time to rest," smiled the Russian, referring to Saturday's final. Kuznetsova, who pulled off a stunning upset when she ousted world number one Williams in the fourth round, won a tight opening set after ending a brilliant baseline slugfest between the two with an overhead smash.

Though she failed to hold serve in the first game of the second set, the Russian broke her 19th-seeded opponent in the second and fourth games to lead 3-1, then fought back from 15-40 down on serve in the ninth to seal victory.