After a week of upsets in the women’s singles draw, the semifinals are now set with some noticeable names missing from the final four.  Among them are Serena Williams, Garbine Muguruza, Agnieszka Radwanska and Venus Williams who were all upset earlier in the tournament.  However, two competitive matches could be on tap as medals will be on the line for the last four players standing.

The first semifinal will feature a contrast in styles of play as the powerful Madison Keys will meet second-seeded Angelique Kerber.  The German will look to use her skilled defensive prowess, return of serve, and ability to redirect power to create offense against Keys.  The lefty has certainly had her share of success against power players as her Australian Open title against Serena Williams comes to mind. 

Meanwhile, it will be important for Keys to serve well and she will attempt to take advantage of the Kerber serve which can be vulnerable at times.  The 21-year old will need to reduce unforced errors against a player who typically forces her opponents to strike extra balls in rallies.

The two have met five times previously with Kerber holding a decisive 4-1 advantage, most recently at Miami in March, where she won 6-3, 6-2.  The American's lone win came on the grass at Eastbourne in 2014.  However, she has been on an impressive run since the end of grass court season having won 9 of her last 10 matches with her only defeat coming at the hands of Simona Halep at the Rogers Cup final in Montreal.  Interestingly, Kerber’s only loss since Wimbledon also came at Montreal, in a semifinal match against Halep.

Two significantly different styles will also be on display in the second semifinal as Petra Kvitova faces Monica Puig.

The big-hitting Czech will look to overpower Puig who, in turn, will attempt to counter by using her quickness to gain an advantage.  Kvitova should certainly have an edge if she executes a high percentage of big first serves and plays clean, first-strike tennis.  However, the two-time major champion has recently shown results that resemble a roller-coaster with many highs and lows between her two Wimbledon singles titles.  In fact, entering Rio, the left-hander has just an 18-16 record with no titles in 2016.

Meanwhile, Puig made the decision to travel to Brazil earlier than many who are competing at the Rio games, which has appeared to have paid off.  She competed in Florianopolis prior to the Olympics and advanced to the semifinals there.  That move seems to have given her confidence after a shaky start to the hard court season following Wimbledon.  The unseeded Puig has not dropped a set in Rio and has earned wins over third-seeded Muguruza and 14-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.  Having defeated these two powerful ball-strikers could prove to be beneficial as she seeks to defeat another potent first-strike player.  It will be the first career meeting between the two players.

The semifinals of one of the more unpredictable tournaments in recent memory, are on Friday from Rio.