From on-court bee invasions to extensive rain delays, the 2024 BNP Paribas Open has provided all sorts of surprises.

Heck, even 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic lost to a 'lucky loser' for the first time in his illustrious 21-year career.

Yet, for as many surprises as the first Masters 1000 tournament of the year has provided, familiar faces remain in both the men's and women's draws.

On the men's side, three of the four semifinalists from the 2023 edition are back: No. 2 Jannik Sinner, No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz, and No. 4 Daniil Medvedev.

On the women's side, 22-year-old and No. 1 Iga Swiatek will face Maria Sakkari.

Women's Final

Iga Swiatek vs. Maria Sakkari

While many of us predicted Iga Swiatek would face Coco Gauff in the 2024 BNP Paribas Open Final, world No. 9 Maria Sakkari prevented that from happening in a gutsy victory against Gauff.

Swiatek and Sakkari have faced off a total of five times, with the latter holding the advantage in the head-to-head (3-2).

Though, the last two matches have gone Swiatek's way in dominant fashion.

The world No. 1 has won each of her matches in straight sets throughout the BNP Paribas Open and has limited two different opponents to zero games won in a single set.

On the other end, Sakkari enters the final off the heels of impressive wins against Caroline Garcia and, most recently, Coco Gauff.

While Sakkari has the skill set equipped to beat Swiatek, the Pole is competing at a higher level right now and looks poised to raise her second trophy at this venue.

Men's Semifinals

Carlos Alcaraz vs. Jannik Sinner

For the second straight year, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner will face off in the semifinal round of the BNP Paribas Open in a match sure to excite, as it seemingly always does.

Sinner is currently operating in a world of his own on the tennis court and is hoping to retain his world No. 2 ranking with a win.

The 22-year-old has won 19 straight matches and has dropped just one set in total since winning the 2024 men's singles Australian Open title back on January 28.

Yet, this matchup will be anything but routine for the Italian.

Added to the already tough task that comes with facing a rival is the fact that Alcaraz has reverted to his incredible form that saw him rise to the youngest-ever world No. 1 back in 2022.

The 20-year-old and No. 3 in the world has bulldozed his way through to the semifinal, most impressively with a straight-set quarterfinal win over Alexander Zverev, an opponent who had held a 4-1 record against the Spaniard on hard-court surfaces prior to their quarterfinal duel.

While Alcaraz is capable of beating Sinner and has had plenty of success against the Italian in the past, Sinner should be able to come out on the winning side in a hard-fought, physical, and intense three-set match.

Daniil Medvedev vs. Tommy Paul

Meeting for just the third time in their respective careers, much is on the line as Daniil Medvedev is looking to make it to the BNP Paribas Final for the second straight year.

Tommy Paul, on the other hand, is looking to make his first ever ATP Masters 1000 final after playing nearly a flawless tournament thus far.

Paul has dropped just one set this tournament and is coming off an impressive win over Norwegian and No. 9 Casper Ruud, an opponent he had greatly struggled against in the past.

Medvedev has also been nearly flawless, defeating the likes of Grigor Dimitrov and, most recently, Holger Rune in straight sets.

While the lanky hard-court specialist is expected to come out of this match with a win, judging by Paul's recent form, this has the potential for an upset in the making.