World number one and top seed Jennifer Capriati survived a punishing baseline battle with Monica Seles on Thursday to claim a thrilling 4-6 6-3 7-6 win and a place in the final of the Nasdaq-100 Open Masters against Serena Williams. The final will mark the second time in as many tournaments that Williams will play Capriati for a title having beaten the Australian Open champion in Scottsdale three weeks ago.
Capriati struggled early on to find her rhythm as fifth seed Seles, who became the youngest ever Miami Masters champion when she lifted the title as a 16-year-old in 1990, looked poised to make a return to the final after winning the first set. But Capriati, playing in front of her hometown crowd, stormed back to take the second. With the match approaching midnight, the two players appeared prepared to slug it out until dawn, matching shot for punishing shot from the baseline. With neither Seles nor Capriati able to find the break, the third set went to a tiebreak, which the world number one took 7-4.
Earlier, Williams claimed a rare win over big sister Venus booking her spot in the final with a ruthless 6-2 6-2 victory over the Wimbledon and US Open champion.
Filed by Shane Murray
