2024 Miami Open Women's Semi-Final MATCH PREVIEW: Elena RYBAKINA set for hotly contested clash with Victoria AZARENKA

It is semi-finals day on the WTA side of the draw at the 2024 Miami Open and the opening clash is one which will see the two favourites left for the title face off in Elena Rybakina and Victoria Azarenka in a hotly anticipated clash.

Our Match Preview looks ahead to the tie including route to the semi-final so far, current form and head to head between the pair in the past. A player who is still not 100% who has rode her luck at times against a dangerous Azarenka who is a three-time champion in Miami and lives in Florida, but who comes out on top.

After winning the opening part of the Sunshine Double last year, Elena Rybakina shockingly lost to a resurgent Petra Kvitova in a final she was expected to win. Albeit, it has been a different dynamic this year and almost in reverse from her 2023.

Back then, she got ill at Roland Garros and could barely hit a ball in the run up to Wimbledon. This was when the Kazakh was truly in world beating form and this was suddenly snatched away. This time around, she has been ill prior to the clay court season so perhaps can ride the crest of the wave from here. She was out of Indian Wells and her title defence after contracting GNI (Gastrointestinal flu) and is still not 100%. She played three days in a row and was left knackered after not playing at all during her eight days off ill. This makes this title run a bit miraculous as she has done it while probably being at 50% of her capabilities. Of course she will get stronger as more games roll around, but she has dodged some tough tests along the way.

This includes Clara Tauson in her opener losing sets to her and Taylor Townsend in her opening two ties. Madison Keys who herself is on the comeback trail followed before Maria Sakkari in a thrilling tie in which she edged a deciding set against the Indian Wells finalist. But the chances gifted to her in that tie might not be so apparent against Azarenka who will no doubt pounce on a surface and tournament she loves.

Three-time Miami Open champion, Victoria Azarenka will aim to add a fourth title this weekend in what would be her first title in four years. One of her last triumphs before a downturn in form was the Sunshine Double winning in 2016 against Serena Williams and Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Azarenka and Miami go hand in hand as technically a home tournament for the 34-year-old. She has lived for most of her career in Boca Raton in Florida which is only an hour down the road and along the coast. A player who continues to thrill and entertain, Azarenka perhaps started with a bit of a mission in mind as she faced Peyton Stearns to begin her campaign.

Bizarrely her ex-boyfriend, Redfoo who is a tennis fanatic and was with her during her heyday was seen in the box of the rising American. But Stearns wasn't employing any distraction tactics, it was simply a weird coincidence. The former LMFAO rapper and singer was at Indian Wells and got invited by Stearns to Miami due to liking his energy and it seemed to spur on Azarenka more than it did Stearns as she surged through.

From there, it was almost a who's who of players who have been touted in recent months with Qinwen Zheng reaching the final of the Australian Open albeit falling off since then and having a bit of a Grand Slam hangover as now a bigger seed and a bigger target to be shot at. Katie Boulter has been epic in recent months after averting her injury woes and recently won in San Diego but was no match for the multiple Australian Open champion. Before Azarenka saw off surprise package, Yulia Putintseva to reach the semi-final.

This has also been done in typical Azarenka fashion with her form being very hit and miss since the back end of 2023. She lost to Caroline Dolehide last week in Indian Wells after a run which saw her reach multiple Quarter-Finals and Semi-Finals in Australia and the Middle East. But she then withdrew mid match with injury in Dubai to end that run against Rybakina but just as she did after a poor end to 2023, she rises from the ashes and into form again.

Both players are very aggression heavy and it is Rybakina who has won that battle thus far in all of their contests. They have played three times with Rybakina getting the better of her 6-3, 6-4 at Indian Wells in 2022.

Their best battle came at the 2023 Australian Open albeit won in straight sets saw a real duel as Rybakina came out on top 7-6, 6-3 in the end before the recent retirement win for the Kazakh in Dubai. But perhaps the factor of Rybakina not being 100% means that the Head to Head simply goes out of the window. This may yet play into Azarenka's hands or it might merely be a footnote in another win for Rybakina.