In-form Maria Sharapova booked a semi-final against top seed Lindsay Davenport with a 6-4 6-3 win over Mary Pierce in Indian Wells.
"I'm really excited - it won't be easy but I feel I know what I need to do," said the Russian, who improved her win-loss record for the year to 17-1.
Davenport took a tight first set before finishing off the Frenchwoman to win 7-6 (7-2) 6-0.
In Friday's other semi, Elena Dementieva will play Kim Clijsters.
Sharapova leads Davenport 2-0 in their head-to-heads and if she wins the contest, she will inch closer to the coveted number one ranking.
The 17-year-old was in dominant mood against Pierce, who had beaten Sharapova at last year's US Open.
"I think I learn a lot from losses and they make me a lot tougher," Sharapova said.
"I was very disappointed (at the U.S. Open), and I went out there and I worked really hard."
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MMIX
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