After several dramatic encounters in the early rounds, intrigue left the Persian Gulf behind on Friday.  A series of routs in the Doha quarterfinals left the WTA Premier Five tournament with a semifinal lineup comprised entirely of top-10 women.  The four semifinalists lost nine total games in their quarterfinal matches, leaving them with plenty of energy for the weekend.  Here's a look at the path that each has traveled and what lies ahead:

Agnieszka Radwanska:  Now the title favorite after Li Na's loss on Thursday, Radwanska is the only player to reach the semifinals at both the Australian Open and Doha, the two most important events of the season so far.  The world No. 4 has played just five completed sets in the tournament and has lost 12 total games.  As the second seed, Radwanska received a first-round bye before defusing the enigmatic Sorana Cirstea, receiving a retirement from a qualifier, and crushing erratic Belgian Yanina Wickmayer.  The good news is that she hasn't looked threatened by anyone.  The bad news is that she hasn't played anyone significant ahead of a semifinal meeting with…

Simona Halep:  It's been encouraging to see Halep put forth the type of result expected from a top-10 player.  Her first event as a member of the top 10 did not end well, and her second nearly resulted in disaster as well.  Halep needed to erase a third-set deficit against Kaia Kanepi in her first match, an escape that seemed to embolden her.  After dismantling rising German star Annika Beck, she surrendered just two games to fourth seed Sara Errani in the quarterfinals.  Halep faces the stern challenge of hitting through Radwanska on a slow-to-medium hard court, which she could not do in Auckland last year.  But she did win their last meeting on the clay of Rome.

Jelena Jankovic:  She became a factor at marquee tournaments again almost without anyone noticing it, not the way that the charismatic Serb usually does business.  Asia witnessed two breakthrough runs by Jankovic last fall:  a Premier Mandatory final in Beijing and a semifinal at the year-end championships in Istanbul.  Doha marks her fourth semifinal in the last six Premier Mandatory/Premier Five events, the main reason why she has rejoined the top eight.  That Beijing finals appearance came at the expense of Petra Kvitova, whom Jankovic defeated again in Doha on Friday.  Known for ebbs and flows in focus, she has shown discipline this week in losing no more than four games to any of her three opponents. 

Angelique Kerber:  Tomorrow marks her second meeting this season with Jankovic, to whom the German fell in Brisbane shortly after New Year's.  Kerber won a fiercely contested first set in that match, only to fade sharply over the next two sets.  Like Jankovic, she excels at extending points, which has been a valuable skill on this surface.   Kerber recorded probably the least dominant series of wins among the four semifinalists, considering both quality of competition and scoreline.  An excellent performance in Fed Cup last weekend may have raised her spirits after a dispiriting start to 2014.  Still, she never has won a title on an outdoor court, a rare statistic for someone ranked as high as No. 9.