Aggressive Andreescu overwhelms Muguruza to reach Indian Wells semi-finals

Bianca Andreescu's breakout season continued Wednesday as the Canadian teenager swept past two-time Grand Slam champion Garbine Muguruza and into the Indian Wells WTA semi-finals.

Andreescu, 18 and ranked 60th in the world, won the first nine games on the way to a 6-0, 6-1 victory that took just 52 minutes.

She reached her third semi-final of the season after a run to the final in Auckland and the last four in Acapulco.

"I just went out there, went for it," Andreescu said. "I didn't focus on who was on the other side.

No answer: Former world number one Garbine Muguruza of Spain falls 6-0, 6-1 to 18-year-old Canadian Bianca Andreescu in the WTA quarter-finals at Indian Wells

"It really helped me. I used my serve to my advantage. She didn't serve so well today, so I took advantage that as well."

Andreescu, who began 2019 ranked 152nd in the world, is now headed for the top 40.

The win over Muguruza, now ranked 20th, followed a victory over 18th-ranked Wang Qiang of China in the fourth round and took her win-loss record to a remarkable 26-3 in 2019, including qualifying matches.

"I had a good day," Andreescu said. "She didn't have such a good day. I felt she was holding back a lot so I just kept putting pressure. She just kept missing."

Muguruza said the overall quality of Andreescu's game was just too much.

"I struggled to find a way to turn things around, because she was keeping her high level all the time," Muguruza said.

Andreescu could get a shot at a top-10 player in the semi-finals, or she could find herself up against another fast-rising teen.

She'll take on the winner of Wednesday's match between seventh-ranked Ukrainian Elina Svitolina and 19-year-old Czech Marketa Vondrousova.

Vondrousova, who reached her second WTA final in Budapest in February, arrived in California ranked 61 in the world and is also projected to crack the top 40 by reaching the semis.

The remaining quarter-finals will be played on Thursday, with Belinda Bencic taking on Karolina Pliskova and Venus Williams facing Angelique Kerber in a battle of former world number ones.

Bencic, 22, stunned world number one Naomi Osaka 6-3, 6-1 in the fourth round, bringing the Japanese star's first WTA title defense to an abrupt end.

The Swiss player is on the rise after a spate of injuries slowed her career and is ranked 23rd in the world after claiming her first title in four years at Dubai last month.

(AFP)