Melbourne, Australia  - Nine-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams snapped a three-match loss streak to Elena Dementieva as she knocked the Russian out 6-3,
6-4 in the semi-finals of the Australian Open on Thursday.

Dementieva, the fourth-seeded Olympic champion, has now exited the discussion for possibly taking over the top spot.

It was her first loss of the season after winning her first 15 matches, including titles in Auckland and Sydney.

Second seed Williams lived to fight again as she plays the Saturday final against one of two more Russians, Dinara Safina and Vera Zvonareva.

Dementieva had beaten Williams in their last three encounters dating to 2007 in Moscow. The Russian also won in the Beijing Olympic quarters and Sydney semi-finals just under a fortnight ago.

Williams rained down two aces in the final game to end a run of three consecutive breaks of serve, setting up two match points with her tenth ace of the afternoon. (dpa)