Serena Williams powered into the final of the Australian Open as fourth seed Elena Dementieva threw away her chance to progress in Melbourne on Thursday. Olympic champion Dementieva self-destructed after a promising start, her serve going awry to hand Williams, increasingly composed, a 6-3 6-4 win. Two double faults to ruin her second-set lead proved Dementieva's undoing. Second seed Williams will now face the winner of an all-Russian clash between Dinara Safina and Vera Svonareva. "I was really calm," said Williams. "I'm really excited to be in the final and I don't care who I play. "I'm happy to have gotten this far, all my hard work is paying off." 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 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. The second set began with ferocious hitting as both players tried to find an extra level. 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. Source: BBC