SYDNEY, Australia - Serena Williams stormed into the semifinals of the Medibank International Sydney on Wednesday, easing past qualifier Vera Dushevina in just 61 minutes under afternoon skies, 62 62.
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Williams, ranked and seeded No.1 in this, her first tournament of the season, was on serve at 2-2 in the opening set against Dushevina before completely breaking away, reeling off seven games in a row to build a 62 30 lead; Dushevina won two games in a row to close to 62 32 but from there Williams broke away one more time. The American beat her easily in their only other meeting, at Miami five years ago, 63 60. 
Highlights: S.Williams vs. Dushevina
"We were both struggling with the wind, but it's good to have a good result in the wind," Williams said. "I don't think I played my best, but that's comforting."
Next for Williams will be Aravane Rezai, who won an all-unseeded battle with Flavia Pennetta, 63 60. It will be the first time Williams and Rezai meet.
Also advancing to the semifinals in the afternoon was No.6 seed Victoria Azarenka, who pulled off her third straight marathon win, beating Dominika Cibulkova, 26 62 75. In her first round match she beat Sabine Lisicki, 36 62 75; in her second round match she beat Kimiko Date Krumm, 61 57 75.
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Next up for Azarenka is No.5 seed Elena Dementieva, who cruised past No.2 seed Dinara Safina in the night match, 62 63. It was a rematch of last year's final, which Dementieva won. Highlights: Dementieva vs. Safina
"With Dinara, you never know what to expect. She had a slow start in the beginning of the match today but she never gave up, and she was tough in the second set," Dementieva said afterwards. "She hits the ball very, very hard with lots of quality, so you have to be ready for her. It was a good game."
"The second set was definitely better. If I played like that from the beginning, the match may have been a different story," Safina said. "I'll just try to improve, take the positives away and look forward to the Australian Open."
