Australian Open 2012 live stream

Here's the equation: four women divided by one Grand Slam title that will decide who is the new No.1. Confused? Allow me to explain.

With the deposing of current No.1 Caroline Wozniacki in the quarterfinals by Kim Clijsters, women's tennis will have a new No.1 on Monday.

Who that will be is slowly becoming clearer. Now that the quarterfinals are completed – handy wins on Wednesday to Maria Sharapova over Ekaterina Makarova and Petra Kvitova defeating Sara Errani – just four women remain. And three of them are in the running for the top spot.

Victoria Azarenka, Kvitova or Sharapova could all claim top spot, Clijsters, the 11th seed here, is not in the race.

So, how does it work? Here are the possible outcomes:

Clijsters v Sharapova final: Sharapova must win the title; if she loses, Kvitova is No.1.

Clijsters v Kvitova final: Kvitova will be No.1 regardless of result.

Azarenka v Sharapova final: the winner will be No.1.

Azarenka v Kvitova final: the winner will be No.1.

Today's semifinals will take us one step closer to solving this problem. First up its Clijsters versus No.3 seed, Azarenka.

Clijsters is lucky to be here. Staring down four match points in the fourth round against 2011 finalist Li Na, the former No.1 somehow found a way to win a match that was seemingly gone. Not to mention she injured her ankle, which many thought would slow her down in her quarterfinal versus Wozniacki. It didn't. Clijsters won in straight sets to advance to her seventh Australian Open semi, which she admitted was going to be a tough one.

"[Azarenka's] playing extremely well, playing with a lot of confidence, and, you know, she's gonna be a completely different match than what I was up against today. [She] takes a lot more initiative. You know, hits a lot down the middle of the court, deep, hard," Clijsters said.

"So it's gonna be very important to be dominant. You know, she's improved a lot on her fitness and her movement, which was definitely a weakness in the past. She's worked on that, so she's becoming a more and more complete player."

For Azarenka, this is just the second time she has played in a Grand Slam semifinal, the first was at Wimbledon last year. The 22-year-old is still trying to track down both that first major title and the No.1 ranking.

"I think you can find a really good balance by winning a Grand Slam and becoming No.1," she laughed when asked whether she wanted to win a Grand Slam or be No.1.

The Belarussian's game has been just as impressive as how she's handled herself on court. The Melbourne crowds have taken to mimicking her on-court sound effects, but she's taking it in her stride.

“Of course I hear it. I mean, I'm not deaf,” she told reporters.

“But it's fine for me. I mean, the crowd, I respect the crowd, whatever they do. I try to just be focused on my game, and that's it.”

This will be a tough match for both players. If she’s to realise her dream, Azarenka will have to overcome both Clijsters and the crowd, who will be firmly behind the defending champ. Clijsters has won four of the pair's past six meetings, but Azaerenka came out on top in straight sets in their most recent stoush.

In the second semi, it'll be a battle of the big hitters – apologies to Azarenka and Clijsters who also hit a heavy ball – when second seed Kvitova takes on fourth seed Sharapova.

The last time these two met in Tokyo, Sharapova retired in the first set. The time before that was the Wimbledon final, which Kvitova won in convincing fashion.

To date both Sharapova and Kvitova have dropped just one set to make it to the final four. Both are in excellent form and are prepared for a battle royale.

"It will certainly be tough. I've lost to her the last couple of times – obviously the big one in Wimbledon where she played really well,” Sharapova said ahead of their showdown. 

"I think she's the one to beat right now, playing the best tennis in her career. Coming off of so many wins last year, I'm looking forward to the match-up. I don't like losing so many times in a row. So I'll certainly be going out there and trying to play my best.”

Kvitova, however, will be focusing on her own game. "I have to play my game as always and be aggressive, but not really hectic, and be focused on every point and it's easy." 

And as for that No.1 spot? Not surprisingly, Kvitova was not prepared to divulge a secret desire to see her name at the top of the list on Monday – the Czech is all business on and off the court.

“Well, I mean, it's the chance for three of us. So, I mean, really it's nothing to talk right now,” she said.

Former No.1 Sharapova, however, was a little more forthcoming in regards to the dangling carrot that the No.1 spot has become this week. 

“It is [a motivation]. But I think I've been fortunate enough to be in that position before. I think the girls that are trying to get that position haven't been in that position before. It's a little bit different because I feel like I've experienced both things in my career: winning Grand Slams and being No.?1 in the world. You can't compare the two. 

“I try to improve in order to win Grand Slams. That's my goal. The more Grand Slams you win, the better your ranking is going to be,” Sharapova said.

And it’s as simple as that. But, as we all know, four doesn't go into one. It's going to be an interesting couple of days.