Osaka, Świątek: What to expect in the Miami Open semi-finals

After an entertaining tournament, only four players remain in this year’s Miami Open.

World number one in waiting Iga Świątek is on course for a third consecutive title win while Naomi Osaka is set to compete in her first semi-final since the 2021 Australian Open.

Świątek will face USA’s Jessica Pegula while Belinda Bencic of Switzerland awaits Osaka.

Here’s the story of the Miami Open so far and how each player earned their spot in the final four.

The first of the two semi-finals will be played this evening — a clash between the reigning Olympic champion and a four-time Grand Slam winner.

Bencic, who won gold at the Tokyo Olympics, saw off Marta Kostyuk in her first match of the tournament before brushing aside Heather Watson and Aliaksandra Sasnovich to reach the quarter-finals.

There, she made light work of dispatching Australia’s Daria Saville in a dominant 6-1, 6-2 win.

Osaka’s Miami Open run has been equally as impressive. She defeated Astra Sharma and Angelique Kerber in the opening two rounds before being given a walkover against Karolína Muchová, due to health concerns for the Czech.

After that, Osaka enjoyed back-to-back wins over US stars Alison Riske and Danielle Collins.

This is is the furthest Bencic has reached in any competition since winning gold at the Olympics so she will certainly be hoping to go one better and reach the final. Meanwhile, Osaka is back in form and looking for her eighth career title.

The Japanese star has returned to the court following a hiatus from tennis and she is ready to once again take the sport by storm.

Jessica Pegula will face tough competition in the form of pending world number one Świątek tomorrow.

The US international enjoyed two strong opening matches after beating