Top seed Iga Swiatek had little trouble navigating the challenge of Sorana Cirstea in Thursday's Indian Wells Open quarter-final, cruising to a 6-2 6-3 victory.
The world number one started brilliantly by breaking the unseeded Romanian's serve on her first opportunity, and despite Cirstea responding, Swiatek rattled off the final four games of the opening set.
The 21-year-old Polish phenom would not stop there as she continued on a streak of eight consecutive games to jump ahead 4-0 in the second set, finishing the job in 83 minutes.
It is Swiatek's third consecutive tournament where she has made it to at least the semi-finals, having won the Qatar Open and reached the final of the Dubai Tennis Championships in February.
The last time she did not reach the semi-final in a tournament was in January's Australian Open, when she was sent packing in the fourth round by Elena Rybakina.
She will get a chance to avenge that defeat in the semi-final after Rybakina set up the rematch by getting the better of Karolina Muchova 7-6 (7-4) 2-6 6-4.
Rybakina, who became the first Kazakhstan-born player to reach the semi-final of a WTA1000 event since 2009, had a much more competitive affair.
In the razor-thin battle, both Rybakina and Muchova won exactly 106 out of 212 points, but the reigning Wimbledon champion and Australian Open finalist produced 14 break point opportunities to the Czech's six.
It will be the fourth overall meeting between Swiatek and Rybakina, and after the Pole took their first clash, Rybakina responded with back-to-back straight-sets victories.
The winner will earn a spot in the final, where they will meet the victor of Maria Sakkari and Aryna Sabalenka.
Alcaraz begins Madrid Open campaign with emphatic win
Carlos Alcaraz continued his fine record at the Madrid Open with an emphatic 6-2 6-1 victory over Alexander Shevchenko on Friday.
The two-time defending champion made it 12 straight wins at his home tournament to ensure he will face Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild in the last 32.
Alcaraz was playing his first match on the ATP Tour since March 28 after being unable to compete in the Monte-Carlo Masters and Barcelona Open due to an arm injury.
But he was still able to make a fine start to his clay-court season, breaking serve in the first game and racing to victory in only one hour and eight minutes.
Data Debrief
Sometimes the scoreline can be harsh on a beaten player, but on this occasion Alcaraz was clearly dominant, breaking the Kazakh seven times in the match and forcing 11 break-point opportunities while conceding only three for his opponent.
That allowed the Spaniard to claim a dominant victory despite being broken once in each set. He will now turn his attention to a clash with Seyboth Wild, who battled past Lorenzo Musetti with a 6-4 6-4 win.
Reigning champion Sabalenka pushed by Linette at Madrid Open
Aryna Sabalenka got her Madrid Open campaign started with a 6-4 3-6 6-3 win over Magda Linette on Friday.
Sabalenka could not quite hit her peak form against Linette, but the world number two nevertheless got the job done after going the distance.
The Belarusian is hunting a record-equalling third title in Madrid, where she is the reigning champion, though she has not won back-to-back matches at a tournament since winning the Australian Open.
"It's not about being confident," Sabalenka said. "It's about how much you're ready to do to get it. It's about the hard work and to be ready, be ready for the big fights. I feel like confidence is not going to help you in those big matches. It's about staying there and fighting for it."
Data Debrief
Sabalenka (70 per cent, 56-24) is now one of five active players since 2020 to hold a winning percentage of 70 per cent or higher at WTA-1000 events.
Iga Swiatek, Simona Halep, Elena Rybakina and Jessica Pegula are the other players to feature on that list.
Rybakina continues clay winning streak with victory over Bronzetti
In-form Elena Rybakina has moved into the last 32 of the Madrid Open after a straight sets victory over Italian Lucia Bronzetti.
Number four seed Rybakina triumphed 6-4 6-3 on Friday and will next face either Marta Kostyuk or Mayar Sherif.
Rybakina was broken early in each set but ultimately had few problems getting over the line, converting four of her five break points to continue an impressive run of results after winning the Stuttgart Open last week.
She has now won five consecutive WTA matches and has 13 straight wins on clay courts to her name in a superb streak that started one year ago.
Data Debrief: Rybakina in elite company
Since the start of 2020, only two other players have claimed as many 13 consecutive WTA wins on clay, and they are Iga Swiatek and Simona Halep, so Rybakina is in elite company.
Rybakina's last defeat on this surface came in the 2023 edition of the Madrid Open, when she fell to Anna Kalinskaya in her first match, so this win represented a better start to her campaign in the Spanish capital.
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