Venus Williams beats Marion Bartoli to make Miami final

Three-time champion Venus Williams extended her winning run to 15 matches as she beat France's Marion Bartoli to reach the Sony Ericsson Open final.

The American, seeded third, came through 6-3 6-4 in the first of the semi-finals in Miami.

Belgian stars Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters meet in the much-anticipated second semi-final later on Thursday.

Williams, who beat Bartoli in the 2007 Wimbledon final, is looking to win her third tournament in a row.

And she is now one just victory from adding the Miami to title those in Dubai and Acapulco that she has won in recent weeks.

The world number five had lost her most recent encounter with Bartoli in Stanford last year but there was to be no repeat.

Williams dominated from the outset, overcoming the only blip when she was pegged back after getting an early break in the first set.

The 29-year-old recovered her advantage immediately and served out the set, before battling back from a break down in the second to win in one hour 30 minutes.

"I'm very pleased to be in the final but it's not enough - I want to take the title," said Williams, who won the last of her three Miami titles back in 2001.