Mason, OH – Li Na of China and Angelique Kerber of Germany were each victorious in Saturday's semifinals to move into the final at the WTA's $2.168 million Western & Southern Open.
The ninth-seeded Li defeated wild card Venus Williams 7-5, 3-6, 6-1 on the hardcourts at the Lindner Family Tennis Center.
Li saved 4-of-7 break point opportunities and took advantage of eight double faults from Williams to advance to her second-straight WTA final after she finished as runner-up to Czech Petra Kvitova in Montreal last week.
Kvitova's bid for back-to-back titles ended at the hands of Kerber, who ousted the fourth-seeded Czech 6-1, 2-6, 6-4, to secure her place in the final.
The fifth-seeded left-hander smashed four aces, including three in the decisive third set to oust Kvitova in just under two hours.
The rising Kerber is 2-1 in three WTA finals so far this year, while Li is still in search of her first title of the season.
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