Indian Wells Tennis 2015: Simona Halep vs Jelena Jankovic Women's Final Schedule

All good things must come to an end—it's just nice if you can have at least some control over it.

Sabine Lisicki's run at the 2015 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, has come to an end, but she at least made her opponent in the women's semifinals—Jelena Jankovic—work for it. Jankovic needed three sets (3-6, 6-3, 6-1) to best Lisicki and book a spot in the women's final. Serena Williams' Indian Wells run is over too, but her good thing was, in a way, taken from her.

According to Sports Illustrated Tennis, Williams withdrew from the competition with a right knee injury:

Williams promised to play the event next year, per the WTA:

Her scheduled semifinal opponent, Simona Halep, earns a free pass from the semis to the final.

It's a stunning end to Williams' brilliant, marauding run through the tournament. She looked primed to take the BNP Paribas Open in her first appearance in the competition since 2001. While legions of tennis fans may feel they have been robbed of something special by not seeing Williams continue her run to the title in Indian Wells, there is still an excellent tennis match to be played, one that is in no way a consolation prize.

As close as Williams is to a sure thing at major tennis events these days, Halep would've had a chance,albeit slim, in the semis, and she and Jankovic should play some excellent tennis on Sunday.

Here's a look at the schedule for the women's final, followed by a quick preview of the match.

Date: Sunday, March 22

Time (ET): 2 p.m.

Location: Stadium 1

TV: ESPN

Live Stream: WatchESPN

At first glance, Halep appears to have the clear advantage over Jankovic. Halep is 3-1 all-time against Jankovic, with the latter's only win coming in a three-setter at the 2010 U.S. Open—long before Halep had begun to hit her stride. Halep may also benefit from having played one fewer game of tennis in Indian Wells and should be well rested for the final.

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

Jankovic hasn't had the smoothest of tournaments thus far. Every opponent has taken her to three sets, save for Lesia Tsurenko, who was forced to retire in the second set of their quarterfinal matchup.

Still, Jankovic has navigated the minefield of the event with aplomb, and she does have an edge over Halep in terms of experience here. Jankovic won the 2010 BNP Paribas Open, one of her 13 WTA title wins.

After Jankovic dropped the first set of her semifinal match against Lisicki, she turned to her steady backhand to win points and keep her opponent fighting for every stroke. Tom Perotta of The New York Times was enamored of its rhythmic consistency: 

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

Jankovic won 60 percent of her first-service points, and 64 percent of her second-return points in the match. It's fine work, but without a potent serve, she will need to be at her sharpest to defeat the much younger Halep.

The 23-year-old Romanian was excellent in her last match, a 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 quarterfinal win over Carla Suarez Navarro on Wednesday. The world No. 3 said after the match that her tactical switch into a more aggressive style late in the first set helped her best Navarro, per ESPN.com:

"

Then I changed my tactic a little bit just to play more into the court and to play more aggressive, to open the court more, and to take the ball very fast. I wanted to try just to make her run a lot because I know that she's moving well and she's hitting really well close to the body. So I tried just to open the court and to finish the points very quickly.

"

Look for her to try to put the 30-year-old Jankovic in similarly uncomfortable situations.  

A win for Halep in this competition may come with an unofficial asterisk because of Williams' withdrawal, but she would prove to be a deserving champion nonetheless. An ascendant force in women's tennis, Halep already has 10 WTA titles to her name and has the potential to overtake the likes of Williams and Maria Sharapova in the rankings in due time.

Jankovic, the world's 21st-ranked player, would receive a huge boost to her career with a win here. She last earned a WTA title at the 2013 Copa Colsanitas in Bogota, Colombia.

No doubt, she is itching for this two-year title drought to end. A win would also do wonders for her world ranking, although she would have to make quite the run to overtake No. 6 Ana Ivanovic as the top female Serbian tennis player in the world.

Stats courtesy of BNPParibasOpen.com unless otherwise noted.