World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki will face sixteenth seed Maria Sharapova in the semi-finals of the WTA Indian Wells Open

Caroline Wozniacki has impressed so far in 2011, and finds herself in the semi-finals here in Indian Wells following a retirement victory against Victoria Azarenka in the quarters. Wozniacki is arguably the tournament favourite at this moment in time, but she’ll need to be on top of her game to get past Maria Sharapova in the final four.

Sharapova has won four of her nine previous matches against No. 1 ranked opposition, and clearly has the ability to cause an upset here. The former world No. 1 threw away a commanding position against Shuai Peng in the last round, but recovered to clinch a 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 win. She’ll need to produce a more consistent performance to get past Wozniacki today.

Sharapova currently has a 2-1 head to head record against Wozniacki, though she hasn’t beaten the Dane since 2008. The pairing last met in 2010 at the US Open, where Wozniacki defeated Sharapova in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4. Wozniacki seems to be the favourite here, but this is unlikely to be a straightforward match for her.