KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan — Top-seeded Venus Williams beat Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan 7-5, 6-3 on Saturday to advance to the final of the Taiwan Open.
Williams, who improved to 3-0 against Putinseva, converted five of eight break points and survived 12 double faults against the third-seeded player.
The seven-time major winner, a surprise first-round loser at the Australian Open last month, will face Japan's Misaki Doi in Sunday's final.
Second-seeded Doi beat local favorite Hsieh Su-wei 6-0, 6-2.