INDIAN WELLS: Bianca Andreescu became the youngest player to reach the final at Indian Wells in 20 years after the teenager beat Elina Svitolina of Ukraine 6-3 2-6 6-4 at the BNP Paribas Open on Friday. The 18-year-old Canadian continued her magical run by overcoming sixth seeded Svitolina to set up a final with three-time Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber who beat Belinda Bencic 6-4 6-2. “This past week, it’s been a dream come true playing in front of these amazing crowds,” Andreescu said in a courtside interview after putting her name alongside Serena Williams who reached and won the 1999 final at 17. Andreescu has shown a knack for competing against top players having beaten Caroline Wozniacki in Auckland earlier this year. Against Svitolina, she survived two hours and 12 minutes of rollercoaster tennis to prevail. Svitolina broke Andreescu’s service twice in the first three games to storm to a 3-0 lead. But the youngster stormed back with aggressive groundstrokes to win six straight games and the opening set where she claimed 26 of the last 35 points. Svitolina refused to squander another fast start in the second set, though, where she dominated. In the decider, Andreescu showed resilience by saving nine of the 10 break points against her and breaking Svitolina twice out of her three chances to win. Kerber reached the final by overcoming the red hot Bencic who defeated world number one Naomi Osaka this week and was coming off a win in Dubai last month. Kerber overcame a 4-2 deficit in the opening set to reach her first career final in Indian Wells. Published in Daily Times, March 17th 2019.