Melbourne, Australia  - Elena Dementieva kept her dream of a possible number one WTA ranking alive as she stormed past Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro 6-2, 6-2 on Wednesday and into her first semi-final at the Australian Open.

"It only took me ten years to get here," joked the Russian fourth seed who spent just over 90 minutes in burning 39.5 degrees Celsius heat as summer weather took hold in Melbourne,

The two-time Grand Slam finalist in Paris and New York said she was glad to get the job done against Spain's pocket rocket, who began her run with a second-round knockout of Venus Williams.

"I had some hot days in Sydney," said Dementieva, undefeated this season with two titles and a 15-0 record. "But I was very glad to win in two sets."

The Russian will likely be working on her serve before the Thursday semi after firing ten double-faults and committing 24 unforced errors.

Dementieva saved ten break points while breaking her Spanish opponent on four of five occasions.

Dementieva is thick in the chase for top ranking honours, with the spot now occupied by Serb Jelena Jankovic changing hands on Monday if Dementieva, Williams or Russian Dinara Safina can win the tournament.

"Of course the ranking is a great incentive, but I'm only concentrating on my semi-final," said the winner. (dpa)