Serena Greets Sharapova
Serena Williams shakes hands with Maria Sharapova after their match on day eleven of the Sony Open at Crandon Tennis Center. Williams won 6-4, 6-3. Reuters

In the women's single of Sony Open 2014, No.1 seed Serena Williams secured her win over No.7 Maria Sharapova by 6-4, 6-3, on Thursday to reach the Sony Open final.

Sharapova seemed to be moving forward to clinch the title. She was leading by 4-1 in the first set and 3-0 lead in the second set. But Serana proved adamant to get back to the game, which she did efficiently with steady baseline and clutch serving. Williams hit 21 winners to 22 unforced errors, while Sharapova bagged 15 winners to 29 unforced errors.

"I wasn't playing my best ... I knew if I wanted to stay in the tournament and make another final, I just had to play better," Williams said.

This is the ninth time Serena will play in the final of the Miami Open, having bagged six titles so far.

"That's pretty awesome - I didn't even realise! But I just love playing here in Miami. This is my home. I love you guys!" Williams added.

The loss of Sharapova will pull her ranking down to No.9 or No.10 on Monday. It will be her lowest ranking since 2011.

"Despite my results against her, I still look forward to playing against her because you learn so much from that type of level she produces ... You finish the match, and you know where you need to improve and the things that you need to work on," Sharapova said.

Meanwhile, in the men's round, Tomas Berdych (No.7) moved to semifinals for the third time, defeating Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine by 6-4, 7-6 (7-3).

At the first set, the match got paused for a while by the rain when the score was 4-4. However, upon resumption, Bredych took the control and led his way to clinch the first set.

Dolgopolov, aiming to come back, made an early break in the second on his way to 5-3 lead. But Berdych again broke the tandem at 5-5, forcing a tie-break which he finally won to register his 450th win in his career.