Venus Williams repeated her semi-final win over Jankovic of 12 months ago

Defending champion Venus Williams will face Serena Williams in the final of the Sony Ericsson Championships after the sisters won their semi-finals.

Venus was in trouble after losing the first set against Jelena Jankovic and facing break points in the second.

But despite needing treatment on her knee, the 29-year-old battled back for a 5-7 6-3 6-4 victory.

Serena Williams led Caroline Wozniacki 6-4 0-1 in the second semi-final when the Dane retired with a stomach injury.

In a tight opening to the first semi, Jankovic let an early lead slip before recovering from a precarious position at 5-4 down with seven consecutive points.

The Serb held three break points and although Venus saved the first two with big serves, the American leaked a forehand wide on the third.

It's my last tournament of the year, so I am trying to give a thousand percent Venus Williams

Jankovic served out the set and had a tremendous chance to move further ahead at 0-40 in game five of the second, but after two good Venus serves the Serb netted a backhand down the line.

Venus made her pay in the next game with a rasping forehand winner to lead 4-2 and quickly closed out to force a third set.

Jankovic gained the early advantage in the decider but Venus hit back and broke three times to serve for the match at 5-4, clinching victory with a forehand that dropped over off the tape.

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"It's my last tournament of the year, so I am trying to give a thousand percent," said world number seven Venus.

"I wasn't feeling the ball very well in the first set, but I came back and had to make sure I played well against such a consistent player like Jelena."

Jankovic admitted: "Today there were more errors than winners. But that's part of the game. It's not easy to make winners, especially because Venus is such a tall girl. She makes two steps and she covers almost the whole court."

Wozniacki called it quits early in the second set against Williams

The second semi-final was a a swifter affair as it pitched unbeaten world number one elect, Serena Williams, against 19-year-old tournament debutant Wozniacki.

Serena was the only player to win all three group matches, while Wozniacki had battled through to the semis despite struggling for fitness all week.

And the Dane received medical treatment on her stomach as she dropped serve four times in the opening set, calling it a day after chasing down a drop shot and hitting a forehand winner for the break at the start of the second.

"She's been struggling throughout the entire tournament," said Serena. "She's just an incredible fighter to come out here today and put up an effort."

The Williams sisters have already met this week, with Serena winning a three-set classic in their Maroon Group clash.

"I'm going to have to really improve my game against Venus if I want to win," she said.

The sisters will not be lining up in the doubles final after they lost 2-6 6-4 10-8 to Nuria Llagostera Vives and Maria Jose Martinez later on Saturday.

Sunday's order of play:

Serena Williams v Venus Williams (1500 GMT)

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