Capriati ends Seles hopes

Capriati will face Serena Williams in the final

Click here for Thursday's semi-final results

World No. 1 Jennifer Capriati defeated fellow American Monica Seles 4-6 6-3 7-6 (7-4) to reach the final of the Nasdaq-100 Open in Miami.

In the final, Capriati will face compatriot Serena Williams, the eighth seed, who ousted her sister Venus, the defending champion and second seed.

Capriati had to fight to the bitter end, saving two match points in the 12th game of the final set - the second with an ace.

I can't believe I finally beat her, it's a shock

Serena Williams

The Australian Open champion went on to win the tiebreaker when Seles sailed a return long to end the 2hr 5min encounter.

"It was a thriller for us and the crowd, we gave it all we got and some of our best tennis came out," said Capriati.

"We were point-for-point and it all came down to just a matter of a couple of points.

"I go for it and it seems to work my way. It was really tough that there had to be a loser tonight."

Serena Williams overcame elder sister Venus 6-2 6-2 to book her place in the final.

The eighth seed took just 50 minutes to overwhelm her second-seeded opponent on a hot centre court.

It was only the second win in eight meetings for Serena, and ended Venus' unbeaten run on hardcourt surfaces which stretched back to 1997.

Serena's stronger serve proved decisive with Venus managing just one break in the sixth game of the second set.

"I can't believe I finally beat her, it's a shock. She's the best out there - I haven't beaten her in a real event," said Serena.

"But she hit a lot of errors today and I was able to capitalise. Now I don't care who I play - I'm in the final."

Venus, the defending champion, had won consecutive titles here in 1998, 1999 and only missed out on the 2000 tournament through injury.

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Semi-final results:

8-S Williams (US) bt 2-V Williams (US) 6-2 6-2
1-J Capriati (US) bt 5-M Seles (US) 4-6 6-3 7-6 (7-4)