Serena rolls into title match, will face first-time Slam finalist Jankovic

Down 2-1 in the first set, Williams broke Safina, but needed three break points to do it. The American then broke to a 5-3 lead when Safina put a forehand into the net, and a similar miscue ended the set in the next game.

Safina didn't go quietly, breaking at love to tie the second at 1-1. It was in the next game, that Williams charged onto a drop shot and hit a groundstroke straight into the Russian.

Safina said that upset her, but she also acknowledged, "It's all in the rules. I can only be angry with myself for hitting a bad drop shot."

When they spoke after the match, Williams said: "I didn't mean it, OK?"

"I was, you know, nearly mortified that I hit her," Williams said later.

Jankovic lost eight of the first nine points and fell behind 2-0 and 4-2. But as Dementieva became more tentative and more erratic, Jankovic reeled off five consecutive games to claim the first set and a 1-0 edge in the second.

Jankovic also trailed by a break at 3-2 in the second set, before coming back again. She got plenty of help - 42 of the 66 points the Serb won came from unforced errors by the fifth-seeded Dementieva.

Jankovic entered the match with an 0-4 record in grand slam semifinals, including losses at this year's Australian Open and French Open. But she kept tracking down balls, running the baseline and stretching her racket, extending points until Dementieva missed.

Dementieva had a golden opportunity to take control of the match when she led 4-2 in the first set and was up 0-30 on Jankovic's serve. Two more points, and Dementieva would have served for the set.

Instead, Dementieva missed three service returns and Jankovic's backhand winner ended a 21-stroke point and the game. Dementieva began the next game by double-faulting, and eventually was broken.

"Mentally, I feel I'm a lot stronger, because I really believe in myself. I really want to do this, and it's about time for me to make that step forward to break that barrier," Jankovic said. "I want to win a Grand Slam, and this is why I came here."

That's why Williams came too.

"She has a lot of pressure to win her first Grand Slam," Williams said, "and I'm just enjoying every moment."