Serena Williams to play Jelena Jankovic in China Open final

Serena Williams overcame a back injury to reach the China Open final where she will play Jelena Jankovic.

The world number one walked off court clutching her back during the second set of her semi-final but returned to complete a 6-2 6-2 victory over Polish third seed Agnieszka Radwanska.

The 32-year-old American said: "My back was a little tight from playing a lot so I was just trying to release it."

Jankovic beat Petra Kvitova in the other semi-final 6-7 (7-9) 6-1 6-1.

The Serbian, seeded eight, broke serve eight times in the match and took advantage of Kvitova's 25 errors in the second set to record a first win against the Czech player and reach the final.

However, Radwanska never looked likely to break her duck against Williams in Beijing and the 24-year-old conceded she had been beaten by a better player.

"It's really hard to find the rhythm and stay in the game, because from the beginning she was dictating pretty much everything," Radwanska said.

"She's the player that really doesn't let you play. She is really just pretty much attacking everything, all the serves, all the returns and when she's really having her day, it's really tough."

Williams has won the French Open, US Open and seven other titles in 2013, losing just four of the 75 matches she has played.