Li defeats Venus to meet Kerber in final

Reuters: China’s Li Na defeated an injured Venus Williams 7-5 3-6 6-1 to reach the final of the Cincinnati Open on Saturday and set up a meeting with German Angelique Kerber.

Wimbledon semi-finalist Kerber came through a gruelling 6-1 2-6 6-4 win over Czech Petra Kvitova to reach her fourth final of the year and her biggest yet.

Earlier, Williams, playing in her first semi-final since the 2010 U.S. Open, was limited in her serve speed which was hovering around a slow 75 mph mark after picking up a back strain shortly before the match begun.

“Just in my warmup it was bothering me. I was like ‘Oh, no’. I tried to fix it between the warmup and the match, but it didn’t work,” Williams told reporters.

“Right now I don’t know why my back hurts, I just know it hurts. After this I’m going to get an evaluation and see what exactly is happening,” said Williams, who will be keen to regain full fitness for the U.S. Open later this month.

The American, who has comeback from illness this year, double-faulted on break point to go 3-2 down in the first set but, relying on her return game, she battled back to 5-5.