Serena wins again, while Safina suffers heavy defeat

SERENA Williams continued her smooth lead-up to next week's Australian Open with a comfortable win at the Sydney International yesterday, while Dinara Safina suffered a heavy loss five days before the first grand slam of 2010.

Playing her second match in 24 hours after a two-month recess, Williams could hardly have been more dominant as she crushed Russian Vera Dushevina 6-2, 6-2 in just over an hour at the Olympic tennis centre.

"I definitely don't think I played my best, but that's comforting to know," the world No 1 said. "Hopefully, I have a long way to go, which I think is always good."

While Williams was an unstoppable force, world No 2 Safina slumped to a 6-2, 6-3 defeat by fellow Russian Elena Dementieva in a repeat of last year's Sydney final.

Williams' opponent in today's semi-finals is Frenchwoman Aravane Rezai, who beat Italian Flavia Pennetta 6-3, 6-0.

Dementieva faces Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, who booked her spot with a 2-6, 6-2, 7-5 win over Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova, her third three-setter in as many days.