Super Semis

 Quarterfinal Recap

The first Quarterfinal of the day was arguably the highest quality too. Venus Williams put paid to Aga Radwanska's quest in the desert with a high quality three set win. Both players managed a high quality first set with Williams coming through with a single break of serve. In the second, Aga stepped up her game considerably. Williams found herself constantly out of position and Aga ended points with precision. In the third, Williams found another gear. Aga had no response to the onslaught of winners and the barrage of power coming her way, managing only a brief comeback before Williams put her to bed with one more glorious forehand winner. The second Quarterfinal was another rematch from the Australian open as Azarenka took on Wozniacki. Everyone, including me, expected Wozniacki to put up a lot of resistance here. Instead, she came out with no game plan and no conceivable idea of how to play against the Belarusian, resulting in a lopsided disappointment. Carla Suarez Navarro did Spain proud for the second week in a row, beating Petra Kvitova in three sets again in a very perplexing match. Suarez Navarro won 15 of the last 20 points as Kvitova fell off the wagon and seemingly rolled around in the dirt. Finally, Safarova kept up her extraordinary 2015 form as she blew Andrea Petkovic in straight sets. With the semis set, who can find that extra magic and secure their place in the final?

Match to watch

Carla Suarez Navarro vs Lucie Safarova- Its hard to argue with form, and while Suarez Navarro has been playing at a consistently high level in weeks past, Safarova has been in simply scintillating form. Carla has shown that she not only has the ability to hang with the big hitters, but that she can indeed beat them. Having beaten arguably the hardest hitting women on tour, two weeks in a row, she should be ready for the pace of ball that Lucie will be delivering. The big difference between Lucie this year and Petra, is simply the amount of errors they have been playing. In the quarterfinal Petra simply dissolved into a bundle of errors, and Carla did exactly what she needed to in order to advance. Lucie simply won't give her as many free points, and as their head to head illustrates, she likes the ball that Suarez Navarro sends her way. She has time to tee up her strokes, wail on the ball, and watch as they sting Carla like an angry bee. Carla needs to move exquisitely, dictate by moving Lucie around, and most of all: hope for a few free points.
Prediction: Safarova def Suarez Navarro in straight sets.

Popcorn Match

Venus Williams vs Victoria Azarenka- Both women have had solid weeks, but have reached the semis in seemingly contrasting fashions. Azarenka has almost breezed through, with the exception of her match against Svitolina, and should be fresh and ready to compete at the highest level. Venus has been made to work extremely hard for every match win. She has been pushed to three sets in all of her matches and several of them have neared three hours. Hopefully she has some energy in reserve for this match or she will be left wanting as Azarenka jumps on every opportunity to change direction and push her opponents around the court. Venus has never lost to Azarenka, infact she has never lost a set to her, and so I believe this match will be on her racquet. I think that she is hungry for more titles and if her body plays ball then she should be able to outmaneuver the Belarusian tomorrow, if not then Azarenka should be able to take advantage of a lackluster Venus to score her first victory over the American.
Prediction: Venus Williams def Azarenka in two sets.

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