March 27, 2014 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
Photo credit: Adam Wolfthal
Serena Williams advanced to the Sony Open Tennis finals Thursday, scoring a straight sets win over Maria Sharapova, 6-4, 6-3. The win marked Serena’s 16th career victory over Sharapova and put her into her ninth finals appearance in Miami. The world number one-ranked Serena is 6-2 in her previous eight Sony Open Tennis finals, winning the title in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008 and 2013. Her two losses came in 1999 to her sister Venus and in 2009 when she fell to Victoria Azarenka.
"I wasn't playing my best," Serena said. "I knew if I wanted to stay in the tournament and make another final, I just had to play better."
Serena earned her 14th consecutive win against a top-10 player. She awaits the winner of Thursday night’s semifinals matchup between reigning Aussie Open champ Li Na and Dominika Cibulkova. Li holds a commanding 6-0 lifetime edge over Cibulkova.
''Despite my results against her, I still look forward to playing against her because you learn so much from that type of level which she produces,'' Sharapova said. ''You finish the match, and you know where you need to improve and the things that you need to work on.''
