Zvonareva will first contend for the doubles title Saturday, teaming up with Azarenka against Gisela Dulko and Shahar Peer, as she looks to become the first dual winner since Lindsay Davenport in 2000.

"I'm very excited," said World No. 6 Zvonareva about playing in both finals. "We've been playing pretty good here. She's very nice girl and good partner, so I'm enjoying it. Then I'll have to come back for my singles, which I'm very excited about. It's my first finals here. It's a big event, great tournament, and I'm really happy about it."

In the day’s first semifinal, Zvonareva and Azarenka each earned five break points during the one hour, 20 minute match. The difference proved Zvonareva’s ability to convert four of her chances while saving all the ones faced on serve – including three in the eighth game of the second set. She put away the match in the next game as Azarenka returned a forehand wide.

"She's a good server," said Zvonareva. "I was trying to concentrate and tried to keep my returns in as much as possible. I know it's not easy, it's not going to happen every day, but I'm pretty satisfied about my game overall today."

Zvonareva, whose previous best result in Indian Wells had been three quarterfinal finishes, now matches Azarenka with a 17-2 season mark – the best win/loss record on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. She opened her 2009 campaign with her first Grand Slam semifinal at the Australian Open, afterwards making her debut in the Top 5, and won her eighth tour singles title at Pattaya City.

The 19-year-old Azarenka, who accounted for top seed Dinara Safina in the quarterfinals, will break into the Top 10 for the first time following her semifinal effort at the BNP Paribas Open.

Ivanovic ended Pavyluchenko’s dream run at the BNP Paribas Open, winning three of her five break points to dismiss the 17-year-old in one hour and 15 minutes. Pavyluchenkova had cruised into her first Tour semifinals without the loss of a set this past fortnight, an impressive run that included upsets of Top 10 players Jelena Jankovic in the second round and Agnieszka Radwanska in the quarterfinals.

“I was really happy with my performance,” Ivanovic said. “She's not an easy opponent, especially she doesn't give you much rhythm. Going into the match, I didn't know anything about her. I haven't actually seen any of the matches she played. I just tried to do my game and to play my game and be aggressive on her serve, and that helped me a lot to be more or less on my service game and win a couple of them easily.”

World No. 7 Ivanovic, who earned a walkover into the semifinals after Austrian Sybille Bammer withdrew with a left shoulder injury, advances to her first final of the 2009 tennis season and the 12th of her career. She has an 8-3 record in Tour finals, achieving her best results last year when she won titles at Indian Wells, Roland Garros and Linz to earn the No. 1 ranking for 12 weeks.

Zvonareva trails Ivanovic in the head-to-head series 3-4, but won their last meeting at the Tour Championships last November en route to a runner-up finish at the circuit finale.

Ivanovic said: “I think she is very confident at the moment. She's been playing really well end of last year and the beginning of this year. I think I have, from the first point on, to be there and try to be aggressive and move forward, like I've been playing so far. It's going to be for sure a tough match, but I look forward to a challenge. It's going to be a good test.”