Dementieva crushes Serena to reach Sydney final

Elena Dementieva overpowered a weary Serena Williams 6-3 6-1 at the Sydney International yesterday to set up an all-Russian final against Dinara Safina.

Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic overcame the distraction of two violent thunderstorms to beat Croatia's Mario Ancic 6-3 6-4 to reach the semi-finals in the men's tournament.

Dementieva cruised to victory against the American, who ran out of steam after a gruelling run to the last four in which she had saved seven match points in her earlier rounds.

Dementieva, unbeaten in nine matches this season after winning the Auckland Classic last week, faces Safina in today's final after she beat Japan's Ai Sugiyama 6-4 7-6 in blistering heat at the Olympic tennis centre.

The two Russians also played each other in last year's Beijing Olympic final, with Dementieva winning the gold medal.

In the men's competition, Djokovic, the world number three, kept his cool as the skies opened up above Sydney's Olympic tennis centre with two heavy downpours after a baking hot day where the temperature soared to 41.2 degrees Celsius.

Djokovic won five games in a row after trailing 3-1 to wrap up the first set, then broke Ancic's serve early in the second before the foul weather intervened.

Play was halted for almost two hours before the showers cleared long enough for the players to finish.

Djokovic plays Jarkko Nieminen in today's semi-finals.

The Finn got a free-ride into the last four when his opponent, Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, pulled out before their match with a back injury.

Tsonga, last year's Australian Open runner-up, has been troubled by back problems in the past and was unsure whether he will be able to take his place in the first grand slam of the year starting in Melbourne on Monday.

Argentine David Nalbandian beat four-times Sydney champion Lleyton Hewitt 7-6 7-5 to book his place in the semi-finals against Richard Gasquet, a 6-2 7-6 winner over fellow Frenchman Jeremy Chardy.