*Serena loses first set to Li
*Needs tiebreak to survive
*Venus thrashes Czech Benesova
(adds Williams sister quotes)
By Simon Evans
MIAMI, April 1 (Reuters) - World number one Serena Williams
survived a scare to beat China's Li Na 4-6 7-6 6-2 on Wednesday
and reach the Sony Ericsson Open semi-finals -- where she will
meet her sister Venus.
Venus beat the Czech Republic's Iveta Benesova 6-1 6-4 to
ensure that at least one of the sisters will be in the final at
Key Biscayne.
Serena made an awful start and trailed 5-1 in the first set
following a string of unforced errors before Li won it 6-4.
Neither player could break serve in the second set although
Serena came close to blowing a game at 5-5 when she twice
double-faulted.
The American dominated the tiebreak, however, which seemed
to rock Li's confidence.
Williams broke Li's serve at the start of the third set and
from then on victory became a formality as the Chinese handed
her opponent several easy points.
Williams was puzzled by her slow start.
"I just had a really slow start. Maybe I was tired, but
that's still not an excuse really," she told reporters. "I
definitely wasn't moving my feet at all. I just wasn't doing
anything that made a lot of sense at all.
"I'm a little disappointed. I don't think I played great,
but I'm glad to have gotten through."
Li, ranked 40th, said there was little she could do once
Williams had begun to take control.
"She played better in the final set. After she won the
second set I didn't think I had a chance because, I was feeling
like she had stood up," she said.
In contrast, big sister Venus started confidently in the
first set, breaking twice early before finishing off the set
with a rocketing ace.
She took her foot off the gas in the second, allowing
Benesova to go 3-0 up and then giving her three break points in
the fourth game.
But she found her composure and ran out a comfortable
winner to book a semi-final against Serena on Thursday.
Venus has a 10-9 record against her sister but earlier this
month lost to her in an exhibition match at Madison Square
Garden.
With the pair being similar in style and approach to the
game, Venus said the outcome would come down to temperament.
"Our core beliefs and our core (play) is very similar. The
difference in our game would be down to personality, I think,"
she said.
Serena said she expected to raise her game for her sister.
"I'm always going to be up for V, because she's playing
really well and is always playing me super tough.
"Her balls are harder and her serve is way bigger ... It's
frustrating, but at the same time fun," she said.
(Editing by Alastair Himmer and Ian Ransom; To query or
comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
