Amelie Mauresmo seems to be at a loss against Serena Williams during the semi-finals of the WTA Tour Championships at Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday. (AFP)

Los Angeles: Serena Williams ended Amelie Mauresmo?s hopes of grabbing the year-end No. 1 ranking by beating the Frenchwoman 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 in the semi-finals of the WTA Tour Championships on Sunday.

Serena will face Maria Sharapova in a rematch of their Wimbledon final after the Russian overcame a shaky first set to ease past compatriot Anastasia Myskina 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 in the second semi-final.

Coming back from a set and a break down, Serena played a gutsy and more mentally sound match than Mauresmo, who failed to convert 12 break points in a nail-biting third set.

Playing in front of a pumped-up crowd in her hometown, the emotional Serena won the two-and-a-half hour contest with a leaping overhead and jumped up and down to roars of approval.

Mauresmo needed to win the tournament to snatch the No. 1 ranking from American Lindsay Davenport and, although she stood toe-to-toe with the six-time Grand Slam champion throughout the match, could not come up with the big shots when it mattered.

?She went for it,? said Mauresmo, who lost for the eighth time in nine matches against Serena.

?To give her credit, I was playing well and she really raised her level a lot. I felt like I forced her to play her best level and make some unbelievable shots.?

Trailing 1-3 in the second set, Serena held serve than broke back to 3-3 when the Frenchwoman double faulted.

The pair served well for the remainder of the set before Serena stepped up her level in the tie-breaker, winning the last five points with a series of huge groundstrokes.

Mauresmo, who has never won a Grand Slam and has admitted to choking away big matches, had numerous opportunities in the third set, but could not gain control.

In the fifth game, she held four break points but committed a backhand error and then watched Serena send down three service winners.

The Frenchwoman held another break point in the sixth game, but Serena crunched a forehand crosscourt winner.

Serena then converted her only break point of the set in the next game when she forced Mauresmo into a forehand error and held on for the rest of the match to claim victory.

?It was intense,? said Serena, who ripped 53 winners to 24 from Mauresmo. ?Amelie was playing some good shots and it was hard because she changed her game.

?She was coming to the net more and taking a lot of pace off, which is a good thing to do. Then I decided to go for it and get my shots down the road.?

Sharapova had lost to Myskina in their three previous meetings, but after a shaky first set, the 17-year-old blasted her weary opponent off the court.

The Wimbledon champion was given a warning for coaching in the fifth game of the second set at 30-30, after her father Yuri was clearly heard yelling instructions at her.

At Wimbledon, Sharapova stunned two-time defending champion Serena 1-6, 4-6, although the American said she never showed up.

?I don?t know who that was, but I wasn?t at Wimbledon this year,? Serena said.

Sharapova was confused by the comment. ?In reality there was one, but she might not have been in reality,? she said.