Indian Wells - Paula Badosa defeated Ons Jabeur in straight sets 6-3, 6-3 on Friday to book her spot in the final of the WTA Indian Wells against former two-time winner Victoria Azarenka.
Spain's Badosa has reached the final in her first appearance in Indian Wells, cooling off Jabeur, who has been one of the hottest players on the Tour with 48 wins in 2021.
Badosa is seeking her second career title, having won her first in Belgrade this year.
Jabeur, the 12th seed, also claimed her first career title this year, winning in Birmingham to become the first Arab woman to win a WTA tournament.
Jabeur did not go quietly in the second set, fighting off five match points before Badosa clinched it on the sixth match point when the Tunisian hit a backhand wide.
Meanwhile, Azarenka, who is trying to become the first three-time WTA winner in Indian Wells, punched her ticket to Sunday's final by rallying to beat former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 on Friday.
Two time Australian Open winner Azarenka continued her solid play in the California desert as she goes for her first title of 2021 and 22nd of her career.
Good morning, España 🇪![CDATA[]]>🇸#BNPPO21 | @paulabadosa pic.twitter.com/mrcHm325yv
The 32-year-old arrived in the semi-finals without dropping a set and after losing the first one to Ostapenko on Friday night she settled in and found her form.
Azarenka is seeking to win the tournament for the third time after victories in 2012 and 2016. She is the only former champion left in either the women's or men's field and with another victory can separate herself from a group of women who have won the trophy twice that includes Martina Navratilova, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova.
Azarenka clinched victory on her first match point when Ostapenko slammed a forehand into the net.
This was the second career meeting between the two but the first on hardcourt so it took Azarenka time to feel her opponent out and figure out what her weaknesses.
Ostapenko controlled most of the first set, breaking Azarenka in the second game to go up 2-0. She then held serve to jump out to a 3-0 lead using her powerful ground strokes to move the Belarussian around the court.
Azarenka went down again 2-0 in the second set but then caught fire while holding serve in the third game.
That started a run of five straight games to take a 5-2 lead. Ostapenko held serve once more but Azarenka served out the set to level the match.
Azarenka raised her level another notch in a hard fought third set, winning the final three games to get to the final.
AFP