Vesnina downs Mladenovic to reach final

Elena Vesnina

Indian Wells - Russian Elena Vesnina powered into the Indian Wells WTA final with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over in-form Kristina Mladenovic on Friday.

Vesnina, ranked at a career-high 15th in the world, thwarted a Mladenovic comeback bid in the second set to win in one hour and 24 minutes.


She'll face either third-ranked Czech Kristina Pliskova or Russian veteran Svetlana Kuznetsova in Sunday's championship match.

Results on Friday in the BNP Paribas Open ATP Masters/WTA tournament in Indian Wells, California (x denotes seeded player): Men
Quarter-finals
Jack Sock (USA x17) bt Kei Nishikori (JPN x4) 6-3, 2-6, 6-2
Roger Federer (SUI x9) bt Nick Kyrgios (AUS x15) walkover
Women
Semi-finals
Elena Vesnina (RUS x14) bt Kristina Mladenovic (FRA x28) 6-3, 6-4