Wozniacki Earns Final Spot, But Owes Radwanska Dinner

© Getty ImagesCaroline Wozniacki is making her fourth appearance in Indian Wells.

Caroline Wozniacki and Agnieszka Radwanska were all smiles during the warm-up, but had a serious task at hand Friday evening in Indian Wells, with a place in the BNP Paribas Open final at stake.

Wozniacki earned the prized spot with a 6-2, 6-3 victory, and after the match received a warm embrace from her close friend, who had been her rival just moments earlier.

“I thought that I played a really good match,” said the second-seeded Wozniacki. “I played consistent and tried to be aggressive, but there was a fine line between playing over aggressively and too passively.

“We know each other so well. We know each other's strengths and weaknesses. Agnieszka is a great fighter. She doesn't give up. I knew that I had to fight till the last point to win this match.”

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Wozniacki reeled off five straight games against the No. 5 seed in the opening set to assume a 5-1 lead before closing out the set on serve. Though Radwanska fought off the first three break points she faced in the second set, she dropped the next three. Wozniacki won the final four points off the Pole’s serve to clinch the victory in one hour and 38 minutes.

In addition to a place in the final, the pair had made side bets ahead of their semi-final match. “She actually owes me an ice cream,” explained Wozniacki. “She thought we were going to play first match, and I said, ‘No, we're going to play late, or 7:30.’ Then we made a bet, as well, and I won, so at least I get an ice cream. But I have to buy dinner.”

The 19-year-old Dane will be contesting her 13th tour-level title match. She reached a circuit-best eight finals in 2009, highlighted by three title wins and a runner-up finish at the US Open.

She will need to defeat sixth-seeded Serbian Jelena Jankovic for the first time in four meetings in order to win her seventh career title.

“She's a great player, a former No. 1,” she said. “She's had a good tournament here, as well. It's gonna be a tough match. But it's the finals, and I'm looking forward to playing in the finals.”

By reaching the title match at the BNP Paribas Open, Wozniacki is projected to move up to a career-high No. 2 when the new Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Rankings are released Monday.