The combination of Safina's heavier shot-making and aggression proved too much for Zvonareva, appearing in her first grand slam semi-final, under a closed roof at the Rod Laver Arena.

Safina, 22, made the French Open final last year but is now chasing her first grand slam title after rebounding from a shaky start to the tournament to produce her best performance at Melbourne Park.

Safina is also bidding to emulate her older brother Marat Safin by winning the Australian Open after his success in 2005 as well as the added incentive of possibly taking over the number one ranking from Jelena Jankovic.

Serena beats Dementieva

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.

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.