Venue: Melbourne Park Date: 19 January-1 February
Coverage: BBC Red Button, Radio 5 Live sports extra, BBC Sport website (Red Button coverage streamed on website throughout fortnight)
 Williams took advantage of Dementieva's crumbling serve
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Serena Williams and Dinara Safina will fight for the world number one ranking in the final of the Australian Open after wins in Melbourne on Thursday.
Second seed Williams beat fourth seed Elena Dementieva 6-3 6-4 in their semi-final as the Russian's serve fell to pieces after a promising start.
Dementieva double-faulted twice to hand Williams a crucial second-set break.
Third seed Safina scrapped past fellow Russian Vera Zvonareva, seeded seventh, 6-3 7-6 (7-4) to reach the final.
"I was really calm," said Williams, who will now face Safina on Saturday for the title.
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To fight for the number one spot in the world is unbelievable
Dinara Safina
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"My goal isn't to be number one. My goal is to win one more singles match here at the Australian Open."
Safina, who will play Williams for the number one world ranking, said the opportunity was her "dream".
"To fight for the number one spot in the world is unbelievable," she said.
"Vera had won so many matches 6-0 whereas I've been struggling, playing three sets.
"But now was the time to play and I was ready for anything."
Williams, searching for her fourth Australian Open title, got the vital break to win an attritional first set which gradually developed into engrossing tennis.
The first three games all went to deuce, 27-year-old Williams saving two break points before squandering a chance to break Olympic champion Dementieva.
The American's unforced errors made Dementieva, also 27, look fairly comfortable when on serve, but Williams slowly improved her focus while her first serve often left the Russian standing.
In the eighth game, a loose backhand from Dementieva opened up the first cracks in her game, and the second seed did not require a second opportunity.
Another wide backhand from Dementieva handed Williams the break, and the Russian gestured despairingly at her racquet as a dismal drop-shot attempt surrendered the first set.
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I allowed Serena to be very aggressive and dictate the game
Elena Dementieva
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The powerful Dementieva backhand won the Russian a break of serve to send her 3-0 up in the set, but another abysmal drop-shot allowed Williams to come roaring back as she produced a string of unusually delicate forehand winners.
A series of double faults in the fifth game of the set proved Dementieva's undoing, throwing away her advantage and self-confidence.
In her next service game the Russian fired limply back into the net as her serve and concentration deteriorated at a worrying rate.
Though she broke back at the first time of asking, another Dementieva service game punctuated by a double fault left Williams to serve out for her place in the final.
"I was maybe not aggressive enough and maybe I was playing not deep enough, which allowed her to be very aggressive and dictate the game," said Dementieva.
 Safina battled past Zvonareva as both players struggled on serve
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Safina went into her semi-final having won five of her nine meetings with Zvonareva.
But Zvonareva, two years Safina's elder at 24, had won the three most recent clashes between the two, all on hard courts similar to Rod Laver Arena.
Safina surged into an early lead in an untidy first set, swatting away a nervy Zvonareva serve to break before holding serve with promising movement and pace.
However, Zvonareva replied with a far better service game then broke back with a strong forehand down the line.
Both women continued to offer up break points on their own serve, and Safina's backhand, which had been looking vulnerable, came good at just the right moment to restore her break advantage in the seventh game.
This time the 22-year-old held serve, reaching up to her full height to produce a devastating first serve that Zvonareva, though the more mobile of the pair, could not combat.
And Safina was building valuable momentum as she fought back from 40-0 down to break Zvonareva for a third time and claim the first set.
The second set went with serve until the fifth game but, as the match entered its second hour, Safina went long to hand her opponent the break.
However, she broke back in controversial circumstances when an impressive winner was clearly ruled in by HawkEye, Zvonareva dubbing the umpire's refusal to replay the point "ridiculous" before slamming a ball across-court in disgust.
Zvonareva briefly appeared to find a new gear as a result of her anger, treating the previously-dangerous Safina serve temporarily with contempt.
She broke Safina once again to serve for the second set, but in a match where neither player ever settled on serve, Safina immediately broke back to send the set to a tie-break.
Sheer tension prevented any real rallies developing in a surprisingly rapid tie-break, but Safina picked off two Zvonareva serves to win, reaching the final with the benefit of another HawkEye call.
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