INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – The bottom half of the draw will take the court on Thursday to finish off the quarterfinals at the BNP Paribas Open. We preview the matchups here.

[13] Victoria Azarenka (BLR #15) vs. Magdalena Rybarikova (SVK #97)
Head-to-head: Azarenka leads, 2-0
Key Stat: Rybarikova is the lowest-ranked player to reach the quarterfinals at Indian Wells since 2012.
Victoria Azarenka continues to play the type of tennis that elicits strong conviction from pundits that she will one day return to the top of the game. Already one of the best returners, the World No.15 is developing into one of the best servers this season. The former No.1 has only faced six break points in her three matches here in the desert, and credits additional power for improvement of her serve. “I worked a lot on my serve to be able to create easier serving games and going for my shots,” Azarenka said after defeating Samantha Stosur in three sets on Tuesday, a match in which she faced only one break point. “Developing power and speed, and now I need to work a little bit more on accuracy.” Azarenka could make her return to the Top 10 with a title at Indian Wells, but down the road she’d like to achieve a lot more than that. “I think getting to No.1 of course it’s a goal. My main goal is to win Grand Slams,” she said. “That’s what I want really bad and that’s what I’m working towards.”

Meanwhile, Slovakia’s Magdalena Rybarikova is playing some of the best tennis of her career, and has notched her biggest result at a Premier Mandatory event. The 27-year-old former World No.31 has now won three consecutive matches against the Top 10, and four of her last six.

Pick: Azarenka in two

Daria Kasatkina (RUS #48) vs. [18] Karolina Pliskova (CZE #19)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Kasatkina already has five more main draw wins in 2016 (12) than she managed in all of 2015 (7).
Clearly, there is something about the thin desert air that 23-year-old Karolina Pliskova enjoys. She improved to 7-2 lifetime at Indian Wells with a takedown of Great Britian’s Johanna Konta on Tuesday to reach the quarterfinals here for the first time. Pliskova is tied for the tournament lead in aces and has won 87 percent of her service games over her first three matches. After dropping back-to-back first-rounders in the Middle East, Pliskova retreated to her residence in Monaco to regroup. “Last year I didn’t lose any first rounds,” Pliskova said after defeating Ana Ivanovic in the third round. “Now I’d lost twice in a row so I’m just happy to have some matches and looking forward to the next one.”

Though not widely known, Pliskova’s next opponent promises to provide her most difficult challenge of the week. 18-year-old Daria Kasatkina, the youngest player in this year’s draw, has created quite the buzz around the grounds with her sparkling game and fine mental focus. The young Russian backed up a big three-set win over Monica Puig with an eyebrow-raising straight-sets thumping of No.12 seed Timea Bacsinszky on Tuesday night. Kasatkina dealt with Bacsinszky’s eclectic strokes and world-class defense clinically, peppering the Swiss’ forehand with heavy topspin forehands of her own, patiently waiting for her opportunities to strike. On Thursday she’ll face Bacsinszky’s polar opposite in the hard-serving Pliskova and it will be interesting to see how the Indian Wells debutant handles the challenge.

Pick: Pliskova in three

– Chris Oddo, wtatennis.com contributor