Wozniacki, Bartoli reach Indian Wells final

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NDIAN WELLS, California, March 19 (Reuters): Top seed Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark and 15th-seeded Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli advanced smoothly to the final of the Indian Wells WTA tournament with commanding victories on Friday. Runner-up here last year, Wozniacki outslugged Russian Maria Sharapova from the baseline 6-1 6-2 after Bartoli had shrugged off the lingering effects of a stomach bug with a 6-1 6-3 demolition of Belgian Yanina Wickmayer. World number one Wozniacki, making very few mistakes against a harder hitting opponent in their evening encounter, broke an error-prone Sharapova three times in each set to triumph in 80 minutes at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. "Definitely didn't expect such a score, but I'm very pleased about the way I played and the way I got my tactics to work," the 20-year-old Dane told reporters after reaching her third consecutive WTA final this year. "It was very important for me to play good defence today, because Maria is hitting the ball hard. It was important to keep depth to my shots and make her move." Sharapova, champion here in 2006 but playing her first tournament in five weeks after suffering a viral infection, was frustrated after a "really flat" performance. "I just didn't have a spark," said the 23-year-old Russian, who served up eight double faults. "She played solid. Bartoli, at 26 the oldest player left in the draw, broke a listless Wickmayer five times in dazzling afternoon sunshine to claim a lopsided victory in 85 minutes. The Frenchwoman squealed in delight after hitting a backhand winner down the line to beat her 23rd-seeded opponent for a third time in three meetings.