Naomi Osaka and Daria Kasatkina through to Indian Wells final after upsets
Naomi Osaka and Daria Kasatkina will go head to head for the BNP Paribas Open title after stunning Simona Halep and Venus Williams respectively in the semi-finals at Indian Wells yesterday.
Unseeded Japanese Osaka overcame world number one Halep 6-3 6-0, winning nine straight games from 3-3 in the first set to dump the top seed out of the competition.
Having stormed to the brink of victory, Osaka was made to work hard in a final game which included six deuces before she got over the line on her third match-point.
Osaka's opponent in the final is fellow 20-year-old Kasatkina, the 20th seed from Russia, who earlier defeated American eighth seed Williams 4-6 6-4 7-5.
Kasatkina has beaten four major champions, and current top-20 players, at Indian Wells this month - Sloane Stephens, Caroline Wozniacki, Angelique Kerber and Williams.
Speaking on court after the match, she said: "It's crazy actually this night. We played almost three hours - incredible match."
She added at her post-match press conference, quoted by wtatennis.com: "Match like this, you're just speechless.
"Even (when) I meet my coach and my brother after the match, I was not able to say anything. I was just, like, 'Aaaaah, okay, that was pretty nice'. Too many emotions and you cannot explain everything."
