Caroline Wozniacki and Venus Williams both scored wins in the ASB Classic semifinals this week, meaning they’ll advance to battle each other on Saturday for the first WTA tournament of the year.

The two athletes displayed very different playing styles during their respective matches, with Williams taking on Lauren Davis and Wozniacki battling Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, who proved to be a tough opponent.

“It really was a tough one. She’s a tricky player to play because she doesn’t give you much rhythm, she comes to the net, she mixes the pace.
She played really well and for me it was all about staying in the match, because I didn’t start off too well, I felt like I didn’t have the depth of the ball I wanted to, but as the match progressed I started to play better as well,” Wozniacki said.

As the match went on, Wozniacki says, she found herself digging into her stamina reserves in order to finish. But staying strong for such a long amount of time isn’t a problem when you’ve already conquered a marathon, something she took on in November.

“It’s mental in that I know I can be out there for hours because I’ve done a marathon and I don’t think many tennis matches last longer than that,” she said.

Though Wozniacki and Williams are professional opponents, the women have formed a friendship over the years; in fact, Serena Williams was waiting at the finish line at the New York marathon when Wozniacki finished.

Wozniacki and Williams will face off against one another over the weekend, and the match is a big one for Wozniacki; she made it to the finals last year, only to see the victory go to opponent Ana Ivanovic.