Dementieva Beats Opponent And Heat To Reach Semis

Both players struggled in the scorching heat as the temperature rose above 40 degrees Celcius.

Russia's Elena Dementieva battled her way through brutal conditions to beat unseeded Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro 6-2 6-2 in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open on Wednesday.

Both players struggled in the scorching heat as the temperature rose above 40 degrees Celcius but it was the more experienced Dementieva who coped best.

The world number four won the first four games to runaway with the opening set, then raced to a 5-1 lead in the second before wrapping up her 15th consecutive victory this season after winning warmup tournaments in Auckland and Sydney.

Dementieva is the third Russian woman through to the semi-finals in Melbourne this year, joining Dinara Safina and Vera Zvonareva. Her semi-final opponent will be either Serena Williams or Svetlana Kuznetsova.