The last four women standing at Wimbledon in 2014 have won just one major title and reached two major finals among them. There is no Serena, Maria, Vika, or Aga, but there is a confident quartet of intriguing competitors eager to seize one of the season’s greatest prizes.

Simona Halep vs. Eugenie Bouchard

There have been few certainties at this year’s Championships, but one thing that is guaranteed is that at least one woman will be making her Wimbledon final debut.  Simona Halep and Eugenie Bouchard have never before been to the second week of Wimbledon, but they have managed to navigate their way to the semifinals, where they will square off to move within one match of hoisting the coveted Venus Rosewater Dish.

Few probably had this particular clash penciled into their brackets, and yet perhaps it should not have come as a total surprise.  Bouchard’s game has steadily improved over the course of the last 12 months, and she has been unbelievably consistent at the Grand Slams.  Her run at Wimbledon marks her third straight semifinal appearance at a major.  Halep has been no less impressive.  She began winning smaller titles in 2013 and has become a major title contender in 2014.  She reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal earlier this year in Melbourne, performed admirably against Maria Sharapova in the Roland Garros final, and has backed up those results with her play here in London.  Neither woman could be any more confident than she is right now.

With both in such a good place mentally, it is difficult to pinpoint who will handle the magnitude of this semifinal best, but Halep looks slightly more poised to do so.  Bouchard has exhibited plenty of mental strength, but nerves did creep into her game when closing out Angelique Kerber.  Contrast that with Halep, who not only did not get down on herself when she fell behind 4-1 against Sabine Lisicki, but did not look back in rattling off 11 straight games to secure her spot in the final four. Halep has also had the experience of making a major final before, which could become significant near the latter stages of this match.  And she has won their lone encounter, which was a three-setter that occurred earlier this season at Indian Wells.

If that meeting is any indication, this semifinal could be a real thriller, especially since their games match up well against one another.  Bouchard has more firepower, and her taller stature gives her more angle and zip on her serve, as well as a more imposing presence at the net.  But Halep has shown that power does not bother her.  She is hard to hit through and capable of getting good pop on her own shots.  She is one of the best in the world at changing the direction of the ball, and she is clearly the better mover.  Bouchard must play first-strike tennis to avoid allowing Halep to move her around or shrink the court, pressing the Canadian into committing errors.

Since neither has a significant edge over the other, this clash is shaping up to be a competitive semifinal.  More importantly, irrespective of who wins, this match is a victory for women’s tennis, since it means these two fresh faces are continuing to cement their places in the upper echelons of the sport.

Petra Kvitova vs. Lucie Safarova

Wimbledon may be all about the tennis, but Petra Kvitova probably feels a bit like she hit a Las Vegas jackpot.  She started in the weaker half of the draw, and now all that stands between her and the Wimbledon final is No. 23 seed and countrywoman, Lucie Safarova.

Kvitova will not be taking Safarova lightly, but she has many reasons to feel optimistic of coming through, starting with their respective games.  Both are lefties who do the bulk of their damage from the baseline.  Both are also more than adequately skilled in the forecourt.  The problem for Safarova is that Kvitova does everything bigger and better than her fellow Czech, and she has a decisive edge in the serving department.

Kvitova’s advantages do not stop with what she can do on the court either.  She has vastly more experience at these elite tournaments than Safarova.  2014 not only marks the first time Safarova has been to the second week of Wimbledon, but the first time she has advanced to the semifinals of any major. Contrast that with Kvitova, who not only has been to the latter rounds of the Grand Slams on multiple occasions but has been particularly stellar on the lawns of Wimbledon.  She won the title in 2011 and has reached the quarterfinals or better in each of the last four years.  She emphatically continued that trend this season.

Of course, should the difference in their Grand Slam résumés not be sufficient, Kvitova’s perfect 5-0 record against Safarova would certainly leave her smiling. She has doled out four of those five defeats to Safarova this season, including when they met on the grass in Eastbourne.  But if there is anything positive to be gleaned from their history for Safarova, it is that she has played Kvitova close in the past.  Two of the five matches have gone the distance, and the closest she came to defeating Kvitova came at their most recent meeting in Eastbourne, where she pushed her compatriot to a third-set tiebreak.

Hopefully that match in Eastbourne will give Safarova confidence, but she knows, as does everyone else, that she faces a huge uphill battle.  She is not known for being mentally solid, and defeating a player she has never beaten to earn a spot in her first major singles final could be too overwhelming.  It is hard to see any scenario short of a Kvitova collapse in which the higher-ranked Czech does not advance to the final for a chance to play for her second Wimbledon title.