Williams, Dementieva reach Aussie semis

MELBOURNE, Jan. 28 (UPI) -- A little shade seemed to help Serena Williams rally to a quarterfinal win in the 2009 Australian Open Wednesday and Elena Dementieva also reached the semis.

Williams -- seeded second and hunting for her fourth Australian Open title -- lost the first set to eighth-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova 5-7 as the temperature hit 105 degrees -- 130 on the court. But the roof was closed for the final two sets and Williams battled back 7-5, 6-1 to snatch the match away from Kuznetsova after the 27-minute delay.

In an earlier match, the fourth-seeded Dementieva had little trouble dispatching Carla Suarez Navarro 6-2, 6-2 in 95 minutes to advance to the next level against Williams. Suarez Navarro went 0-for-10 on break-point opportunities.

Dementieva overcame 10 double faults to reach her first-ever Australian Open semifinal. She captured the match after winning 16 of the first 18 points for a 4-0 lead, and rose to 15-0 this season, including back-to-back titles in Auckland and Sydney.

Dementieva will play Williams Thursday in her third straight Grand Slam semi. Dementieva has won their last three meetings, including the Olympic quarterfinals.