Andreeva shocks Swiatek to set up Indian Wells final against Sabalenka

Teenager Mirra Andreeva is on the rise and even the defending Indian Wells champion Iga Swiatek could not stop her from reaching the final against Aryna Sabalenka.

Andreeva, who became the youngest winner of a WTA 1000 event in Dubai last month, stunned Swiatek 7-6 (7-1) 1-6 6-3.

The 17-year-old won her 11th straight match - two of them against the world No 2, who has lost all five of her semi-final appearances since winning the French Open last June.

Aryna Sabalenka avenged her Australian Open final defeat to Madison Keys in ruthless fashion as she booked her place in the final - 6-0 6-1.

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A tight first set went Andreeva's way as she conceded a single point in the tie-break, but Swiatek raced through the second set with a trio of breaks.

But she was unable to continue her dominance, Andreeva completing the victory in two hours and 17 minutes with her third break of the third set.

"I don't know why I felt so much confidence and I felt like I'm going to go and play the tie-break like it's the last tie-break of my life," Andreeva said. "So I just went for all my shots.

"My serve was great and just felt super comfortable and super confident during the tie-break. I kind of played on a roll."

The ninth seed is coached by former Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez, who reached the Indian Wells final twice during her playing days.

"I know that my coach lost in the finals so I'm going to try to be better than her," said Andreeva with a laugh.

Defeat ended Swiatek's bid to become the first woman to win the tournament in the Southern California desert three times.

Ruthless Sabalenka races into final

Keys claimed her first Grand Slam title with victory over Sabalenka in January but the American fifth seed never looked like repeating that victory in Indian Wells as she made 21 errors.

Sabalenka needed just 51 minutes to complete the win in chilly, blustery conditions, Keys holding serve late in the second set to avoid a whitewash.

"I wish I would play like that in Australia," said Sabalenka, who admitted she had needed time to recover from that defeat and was looking forward to taking on Andreeva.

"It feels like an old mama playing against a kid. Oh my God, I'm nine years older than her."

Revenge is also on the mind of Andreeva, who lost to the Belarusian in straight sets in the fourth round of the Australian Open.

"I'm going to try to take revenge because I still have nothing to lose," she said.

"I feel like the match is going to be entertaining. There are going to be a lot of winners, a lot of great points."

In the men's semi-finals, two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz faces British No 1 Jack Draper, and fifth-seed Daniil Medvedev takes on Holger Rune.

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