Victoria Azarenka (1) vs. Maria Sharapova (3)
Head-to-head: Azarenka leads 5-4
!What Azarenka must do to win:
Trust her shots, stay calm, and work the cross-court patterns early to establish control. Neither woman recalls Steffi Graf when it comes to court coverage, but Azarenka has been the more accurate and dangerous hitter on the run in their recent hard-court meetings. The top seed plays with more spin on her shots and has had success working the wide ball against Sharapova, whose flat replies can expire in the net. Azarenka annihilated Sharapova's second serve in the Australian Open final, winning 14 of 17 points played on the Russian's second delivery; look for her to attack that second delivery with a vengeance.
What Sharapova must do to win:
Control the center of the court, take the first strike in rallies, and serve more effectively than she did in lopsided losses to Azarenka in the Australian Open and Indian Wells' finals earlier this year. Sharapova plays a straight-forward aggressive baseline style very effectively, but she doesn't have the variety to throw a Plan B at Azarenka. The Roland Garros champion must make plenty of first serves and try to take charge of rallies early to avoid being dragged into defensive positions on court.
The Pick: Azarenka in three sets
A clash between two Grand Slam champions who are tremendous fighters—Sharapova is 12-0 and Azarenka 11-0 in three-set matches this season—should offer some crackling baseline exchanges. This could come down to which woman is making the first strike and holding her nerve on serve. Azarenka has been in better form in recent rounds, and should be empowered defeating defending champion Samantha Stosur to raise her hard-court record to 31-2 in 2012. Sharapova has been resourceful in rallying past Nadia Petrova and Marion Bartoli, but her serve has been a bit shaky recently and Azarenka is one of tennis' top returners. The Belarusian plays with more margin, which should favor her if conditions are breezy, and she's beaten Sharapova soundly in two hard-court matches this year.
LIVE CHAT: 1:45 pm, Azarenka vs. Sharapova
Serena Williams (4) vs. Sara Errani (10)
Head-to-head: Williams leads 3-0