The two semi-finals in the women's competition of the Australian Open is scheduled to be played at the Rod Laver Arena with Maria Sharapova taking on fellow Russian Ekaterina Makarova and Serena Williams facing compatriot Madison Keys in the other.
Serena Williams has been in good form en route to the semi-finals, though she had to face some jittery moments in her clash with Garbiñe Muguruza and Elina Svitolina, where the game was stretched to three sets.
But, she came up with a great game in the quarters, defeating Dominika Cibulková in straight sets, 6-2 and 6-2.
''I feel I played well. I felt I had to. I feel like when you're going up against a player like that who is confident on the court - she just had a few good matches - I knew that I needed to really play well or go home,'' said Serena Williams after her quarter-finals match.
She is happy that she is still alive in the tournament and is just two wins away from yet another grand slam win.
But, Madison Keys stands in her way, who also defeated Serena's sister in the quarters. Keys' has been in good form in the tournament, though unseeded.
While, another former world number one, Maria Sharapova has been in superb form, defeating a number of seeded players, en route to setting up a date with Ekaterina Makarova.
Sharapova defeated seventh seed, Eugenie Bouchard in the competition in straight sets, where she was very much focussed on the game.
She said, "Yeah, I felt pretty good from the start. I thought I had a really good start. I kept my focus throughout the whole match."
"I didn't feel that I had too many letdowns, which is important. When I did have a few slips I was able to come out with great first serves or really powerful returns. But overall really happy with the way the match went."
She feels it is going to be a tricky affair with Makarova, who would come into the match 'free'.
Talking about her opponent, Makarova, Sharapova said, ''Well, besides playing another Russian, I'm also facing an opponent that wasn't necessarily a favorite coming into that stage.''
''That's always a tricky situation because she's going to come into that match free and almost happy to be in that situation, and that's dangerous.''
''You know, I haven't faced a lefty in this tournament yet. She's been using her lefty serve extremely well from what I've seen. But, yeah, I'll be looking out for that, work on a few things tomorrow, and be ready for that match.''
Maria Sharapova's semi final clash against Ekaterina Makarova will be shown live on Sony Six and Sony Six HD, after the men's doubles semi-finals between Jean Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau, which has been scheduled for 11am local time (5:30am IST, 12am GMT, 7pm ET)
Sharapova's match would then be followed by Serena Williams Vs Madison Keys match.
Viewers in India can also catch all the matches live on livsports.in. Audience across the world can also watch both the matches live on the Australian Open website's live option.
