Serena Williams retained the No. 1 world ranking by beating her sister Venus 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in the semifinals of the Sony Ericsson Open on Thursday. The match was the 20th meeting between the sisters, and each has won 10 times. Serena needed to reach the final to retain the top ranking she has held since Feb. 2. Otherwise she would have been supplanted next week by No. 2-ranked Dinara Safina of Russia. “Even though she's my sister, I'm still here to win,” Venus said. “I can't give anyone anything. So I'm disappointed that I lost tonight, whether or not she kept the ranking or not.” Serena's opponent Saturday will be 19-year-old Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, who beat 2006 champion Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-3, 2-6, 7-5. Azarenka became ill with a stomach complaint before losing a fourth-round match against Williams at the Australian Open in January. Serena jumped to a 4-1 lead in the final set against her older sister and broke serve for the sixth time in the final game. When she closed out her victory, she hopped in delight, raised a fist and shouted “Yes!” She then met her sister at the net with a handshake and slap on the back. As often happens, Williams vs. Williams was an aesthetic disappointment. Both players repeatedly went for winners, which resulted in many errors and few long rallies. Fans were subdued, with the majority heading back to the mainland by the third set. With Venus serving at 3-5, Serena hit a backhand winner and punched the air, then repeated the sequence five points later to reach match point. Serena won 82 points, Venus 81. Serena had 38 unforced errors, Venus 40. Serena hit 19 winners, Venus 22. One big difference: Venus twice double-faulted on break point. “It was a well-fought match,” she said. “My serve wasn't going as well as I wanted. But she brought a lot of balls back and played tough.” Serena is seeking her sixth Key Biscayne title, which would break the record she shares with Steffi Graf. She's 52-5 in the event, with one loss since 2001 – to Venus. Azarenka kept waving clenched fists during her semifinal, as if there was any doubt she meant business. Celebrating every important point she won, the teenager earned her biggest victory yet. “It's the first final in such a big tournament for me,” Azarenka said. “It's the biggest moment, I would say, in my career. It's all kind of an experience for me. It's a new thing that I'm going to be introduced to on how to handle.” Azarenka closed out the victory on her fourth match point when Kuznetsova netted a backhand to end the 2-hour, 40-minute endurance test played in 85-degree (30
