World No.1 Serena Williams defeated Maria Sharapova 6-4 6-3 on Thursday to reach the final of the Miami Masters.

Williams extended her dominance over the fourth-seeded Russian and now leads their career head-to-head 16-2.

The American has won 15 straight matches against Sharapova, whose two victories in their rivalry came back in 2004.

In the final Williams will be gunning for a second straight Miami crown and a seventh overall.

For Sharapova it was another disappointing finish in Miami, where she has reached five finals but never lifted the trophy.

Williams will face second seed Li Na in the decider after the Chinese edged out Dominika Cibulkova in three sets.

Li beat the Slovakian in the Australian Open final in January and although Cibulkova gave a better account of herself in Miami, she still came out on the losing side as her 32-year-old opponent triumphed 7-5 2-6 6-3.

World No.2 Li has won all six of her meetings with Cibulkova, including a quarter-final clash at Indian Wells this month.