Svetlana Kuznetsova safely through to Indian Wells semi-finals

Svetlana Kuznetsova has advanced through to the last four at Indian Wells for the first time since 2008 with a straightforward win over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

The world number eight came out on top 6-3 6-2 in California to become the first name in the hat for the semi-finals, taking just over an hour to get the job done.

Pavlyuchenkova lost her serve in the opening game of the contest and failed to truly recover, as Kuznetsova held out to grab a foothold in the match and take a step closer to a place in the next round.

It proved to be plain sailing for the two-time Grand Slam winner in the second set, too, with six games on the spin against her Russian compatriot seeing her safely through.

Kuznetsova will now face either Karolina Pliskova or Garbine Muguruza for a place in the final.