Second seed Serena Williams advanced to the final of the Australian Open with a 6-3 6-4 victory over fourth seed Elena Dementieva on Thursday.
Williams's victory under the closed roof of Rod Laver Arena ended the Russian's 15-game unbeaten streak in 2009 after Dementieva had earlier won titles at Auckland and Sydney.
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Williams, who had to battle back from a 0-3 deficit in the second set after comfortably taking the first, has advanced to three previous Australian Open finals and won them all.
The 27-year-old American also suffered a heavy fall in the second set but bounced back to her feet and shook off any effects to advance to a final showdown on Saturday with either third seed Dinara Safina or seventh seed Vera Zvonareva.
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