Williams overcomes heat to go through

Serena Williams booked a semi-final clash with Russian Elena Dementieva after grinding out a 5-7, 7-5, 6-1 win against Svetlana Kuznetsova at the Australian Open today.

The match began in intense heat with temperatures hitting 40 degrees Celsius. Kuznetsova, the eight seed, won the opening set and appeared to be getting on top of the American second seed who looked far from comfortable in the unpleasant conditions.