Vesnina ousts Venus, Mladenovic beats Wozniacki

TIL Desk Sports/ Elena Vesnina denied Venus Williams another comeback win, while Kristina Mladenovic roared back from a set and a break down to beat Caroline Wozniacki on Thursday to reach the semi-finals of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.

Williams, who this week survived match points against Jelena Jankovic and was down a break in the third against Peng Shuai, fought off three match points in the eighth game and had six chances to bring it back on serve in the next before the 14th-seeded Russian finally held to finish a gutsy 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 win.

The 30-year-old Vesnina, a Wimbledon semi-finalist last year, ripped a forehand put away off a backhand from 12th seed Williams that clipped the netcord to end the two hour 11 minute battle in the California desert.  “At the end of the match, I don’t know how I won that game from 0-40,” Vesnina, who had ousted second seed Angelique Kerber to reach the quarters, said in an on-court interview.