Serena Williams advances to final

Serena Williams beat Agnieszka Radwanska 6- 4, 7- 6 ( 1) to reach the final at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells ( Riverside County), an event she won in 2001 and then boycotted for 14 years. Williams hit 41 winners and had 29 unforced errors to 18 winners and just 10 unforced errors by Radwanska, who fell to 0- 10 in her career against the world’s top- ranked player.

Victoria Azarenka defeated Karolina Pliskova 7- 6 ( 1), 1- 6, 6- 2 in the other women’s semifinal.

In the men’s quarterfinals, Novak Djokovic beat Jo- Wilfried Tsonga 7- 6 ( 2), 7- 6 ( 2) to set up a semifinal against Rafael Nadal, who beat Kei Nishikori 6- 4, 6- 3. Swimming: Cal’s Rachel Bootsma won the 100- yard backstroke in 50.28 seconds for her third national title as the Bears remained in second place after day two of the NCAA women’s championships in Atlanta. Georgia leads with 285 points, followed by Cal ( 267.5) and Stanford ( 265). Ella Eastin of Stanford easily won the 400 individual medley in 3: 58.4, and the Cardinal also got a victory in the 200 medley relay. Motor sports: Austin Dillon won the pole for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Fontana ( San Bernardino County), claiming the spot for the first time this season at a top speed of 188.482 mph. Dillon turned a lap in 38.2 seconds in his Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, edging Kevin Harvick by 0.031 of a second.