Osaka ousts Halep; Venus loses

INDIAN WELLS – Japanese dynamo Naomi Osaka punched her ticket to the Indian Wells final on Friday, routing world No. 1 Simona Halep to set up a title clash with rising star Daria Kasatkina.

World No. 44 Osaka stormed past the top seeded Halep with a stunning 6-3, 6-0 win, while Russian juggernaut Kasatkina wore down the 37-year-old seven-time Grand Slam winner Venus Williams in three sets, 4-6, 6-4, 7-5. The 26-year-old former champion Halep dropped to 18-2 on the season.

“I just was not ready. I missed the ball a lot and I didn’t play what I had to play,” Halep said. “I don’t find excuses. She was better. I just was not ready and played wrong.”

Youth prevailed Friday night as both unseeded Osaka and world No. 19 Kasatkina are 20 years old while the combined age of Williams and Halep is 63.

“I feel like there is a new generation and we are trying to push through,” said Osaka, who clinched the contest on the third match point.

Osaka improved to 14-4 in 2018 as she came into the clash as the lowest ranked Indian Wells semifinalist since Kim Clijsters in 2005.

“I was kind of nervous that entire (final) game because it kept going back and forth,” Osaka said.

“But I’m really glad I was able to finish on my serve instead of having to break her or something like that. Yeah, it felt good.”