After the early rounds of Indian Wells produced a flurry of surprising results, the four quarterfinals went almost exactly as expected, with Serena Williams, Agnieszka Radwanska, Victoria Azarenka, and Karolina Pliskova all emerging victorious from their respective matches.

The results increase the possibility of a final featuring a fascinating resumption of one of the few match-ups between Serena and another top player that actually feels like a rivalry – versus Azarenka. But before that can even be considered, Serena has to ensure she is focused for her match against Radwanska in the semifinal. While her 9-0 head-to-head record against Radwanska suggests she will have no trouble winning the match, the crafty Pole is in excellent form and is an opponent never to be underestimated.

If Radwanska is to have any chance of beating Serena, she must arrive with a game plan to deal with Serena’s fearsome power. One option for this plan is to do what Angelique Kerber did in the Australian Open final and target the American’s forehand. Coaches and pundits have identified that side as the more likely to break down, and it certainly worked for the German in Melbourne, since Serena made 22 forehand errors in that match. Kerber also kept the errors she made in the final to an absolute minimum, ending with an outstanding tally of only 13 unforced errors in a three-set match. Given that Radwanska is known for not making many errors, this is definitely a blueprint she is capable of following. However, in her past matches with Serena, she has typically made more errors than usual in her struggle to cope with Serena’s ferocious serve and groundstrokes. To win, the Pole will have to alter this trend.

Should Radwanska find a way to counter Serena’s style of play, she could take the world No. 1 to three sets or even pull off an unlikely victory. However, the most likely outcome remains a repeat of the result in eight of their previous nine encounters: a Serena win in straight sets.

Victoria Azarenka’s Grand Slam-winning pedigree makes her the slight favorite for an intriguing clash with Karolina Pliskova in the second semifinal. There are several factors in place that indicate it will be a close match. The first is that both women have been in exceptional form in Indian Wells, dropping only two sets between them on their way to the last four. The second is that both have games that rely heavily on excellent ball-striking from the back of the court, and the third is that their only meaningful match so far (they also played when Pliskova was 16) – in Brisbane last year – was a tight, tense three-set encounter that Pliskova won 4-6 7-6 6-4.

While both women have strong groundstrokes, Pliskova is the better server, and Azarenka is the stronger returner, so the Belarussian’s service games will be the key battleground within the match. If the Czech’s serve holds up, and Azarenka is not able to break her often, her own weaker serve will soon come under pressure from Pliskova’s powerful strikes from the back of the court. However, if Azarenka does manage to achieve several breaks of serve, she could quickly run away with the match, provided she remains consistent on her own serve.

The Belarussian will also look to take advantage of her superior movement around the court, and she will aim to take her less mobile opponent out of her comfort zone by forcing her to run more than usual. In a sense, this is another key aspect of the match, since to successfully move Pliskova around, Azarenka will have to dictate the majority of the points. If she does, she will surely win. And whatever happens, it promises to be a highly entertaining match, for both women play eye-catching tennis and love to hit spectacular winners.