Wimbledon Women's semi-finals: Sisters Serena and Venus Williams will contest a Wimbledon final for the fourth time after the latter followed her younger sibling into Saturday's showpiece with a two-set demolition of Russian top seed Dinara Safina. Earlier this afternoon Serena was made to work much harder by Elena Dementieva to earn her place in her fifth SW19 final.
Safina won just one game in her match against Venus and never looked close to justifying her status as the top-ranked women's player against the five-time champion and second seed.
Venus's place in an eighth final was never in doubt as the Russian failed to come to terms with her powerful hitting from the back of the court in a match which lasted just 51 minutes.
"This is my eighth final and a dream come true to be here again and have the opportunity to hold the plate up," she said in a courtside interview.
"She's (Safina) so talented and she's played so consistently in the last year and I went out there and was able to really stay focused. I have so much experience on this court it helps a lot."
The match opened before a half-full Centre Court as the crowd sought shade and refreshment after Serena's almost three-hour victory Dementieva.
Venus didn't seem to mind the lack of attention as she raced to a 5-0 lead and sealed the opener after just 27 minutes.
Safina, still chasing her first grand slam crown, never got into her stride and was immediately broken in the second and the end came when the Russian hit a backhand return into the net.
The lopsided win was in sharp contrast to sister Serena's 6-7 7-5 8-6 win over her Russian opponent.
"It was so hard before my match to watch all that drama but the hardest part is next to come to play Serena Williams so I'm hoping I can win," Venus added.
Dementieva took the opening set of her match 7-6 but lost the second 7-5. In a third marathon set she let a match point slip before her serve was broken in the 13th game and Serena served out to win 8-6.
It meant the Russian was denied an appearance in her first Wimbledon final.
Dementieva, the fourth seed, came out swinging and was rewarded with a break in the opening game but the Russian immediately surrendered her own serve as the first set settled into a pattern of powerful groundstrokes being traded from behind the baseline.
After the initial exchange of breaks, serve dominated, with Williams looking particularly secure on her own delivery.
The American moved 0-40 ahead on her opponent's serve in the eighth game but was unable to convert any of her three break points as Dementieva reeled off five points in a row to hold.
Neither player had dropped a set on their way to the last four and it was no surprise when a tie-break was required.
And it was Williams who blinked first, her forehand deserting her as a series of errors gifted Dementieva the breaker by a 7-4 score.
The second seed re-asserted herself at the beginning of the second set, consolidating a break in the first game to open a 3-1 lead.
But Dementieva showed impressive resolve to recover the break in the sixth game and again to save a break point at 30-40 down to move 4-3 ahead.
However, Williams continued to force the pace and claimed a crucial break in the 11th game, confirmed via a challenge of an erroneous line call, to serve for the set at 6-5.
She was made to work hard, saving four break points - twice with an ace, but eventually closed out the second set with another booming ace to take the contest into a decider.
The third set was another closely-fought affair, Dementieva drawing first blood with a break in the fourth game before gifting it straight back.
At 5-4 down, Williams found herself under severe pressure and serving to stay in the match.
Dementieva's superb cross-court pass at 30-30 took her to match point but Williams saved it with a backhand volley and produced huge serves on the next two points to hold.
Williams seized the moment again, breaking Dementeva for a 7-6 lead before serving out for an epic victory.
"Elena played so well and we gave the crowd a wonderful match," Serena said afterwards.