The sixth-ranked Russian pulled away by breaking Kuznetsova in the fifth game of the second and third sets.

"I thought I did a good job in the first set, I had a little less match experience than her at the end but I stayed together, stayed tough and came through," Sharapova said.

Sharapova reached the semifinal for the fourth straight time since winning the WTA's season-ending championship in her debut in 2004.

"I'm really happy I didn't just stay home and quit and not come out here," said Sharapova, who has a lingering right-shoulder injury. "I'm good, this is really good for me. This will only make me physically stronger."