Li Na advanced to the final at the Sony Open by beating Dominika Cibulkova 7—5, 2—6, 6—3 early Friday.
Li improved to 7-0 against Cibulkova. She won despite being broken seven times and committing 40 unforced errors, closing out the victory at 12-33 a.m. when Cibulkova hit a final forehand wide.
On Saturday, Li will play top-ranked Serena Williams, who beat Maria Sharapova for the 15th consecutive time, rallying in both sets to win 6-4, 6-3.
The No. 2-ranked Li is only 1-10 against Williams, but she leads the women’s tour this year with a record of 21-2, including the Australian Open title in January.
