Mirra Andreeva has reached the championship match of the WTA Finals at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, beating fifth seed Jessica Pegula 6-3, 6-4 in a dominant performance. The 19-year-old, who won her maiden grand slam at Roland Garros six months earlier, has not dropped a set in the tournament and has conceded just 18 games across four matches.

The win came a week after a hot-mic controversy at the start of the event, when Pegula's criticisms of Andreeva, whom she called a "diva" after their practice, were broadcast to the world. Pegula apologised and both players laughed off the incident, before meeting across the net for the first time in their careers in an official match. Andreeva also beat the No 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 6-0 in the tournament, winning 11 games in succession from 1-4 down.S1

The conditions at Indian Wells were challenging, with heavy winds making it hard for both players to find rhythm with their serves and groundstrokes. Andreeva took time to adjust, double-faulting to fall 2-1 behind early, but she soon showed the full range of her game and was the far better player, absorbing Pegula's first strikes with her defensive skill.S1

A year ago Andreeva narrowly missed qualifying for the WTA Finals by six points after choosing not to compete in the final tournament week before the event. She will rise to No 2 in the WTA rankings on Monday regardless of the result, and will face the winner of the second semi-final between Linda Noskova and Elina Svitolina for the title.S1S2