Melbourne: Serena Williams survived the onset of a once-in-a-century heatwave and endured an out-of-body experience on Wednesday to oust Svetlana Kuznetsova and join a trio of Muscovites in the Australian Open semi-finals.
Only the American's refusal to buckle and the organisers' decision to close the roof as the mercury soared, prevented a Russian sweep of the quarter-finals after Elena Dementieva had earlier endured the brutal conditions to advance.
Dementieva beat unseeded Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro 6-2 6-2. The fourth seed's compatriots Vera Zvonareva and Dinara Safina booked their semi-final berths on Tuesday.
"Me against the Russians now, I guess," Williams quipped after her 5-7 7-5 6-1 victory.
Seeking a fourth Australian Open crown, the American second seed struggled in the opening set before organisers invoked their Extreme Heat Policy and shut the roof on the Rod Laver Arena court with the temperature topping 43 degrees Celsius.
She picked up in the second set and raced through the third as Kuznetsova found she had punched herself out and could not keep up with the rejuvenated Serena. "It was really an out-of-body experience," Williams told reporters.
"I felt I was watching someone play in a blue dress, and it wasn't me, because it was so hot out there. It was so hot that my rackets lost all tension. I had to string them way tighter than normal for my ball to stay in the court because they were pretty much hitting the people in the crowd. Definitely, I was mortified at some of the shots I hit. I felt that it cooled down pretty fast once the roof was closed,” Williams said.
Angry Kuznetsova
Kuznetsova was angry that her opponent was allowed to slip the hook because the roof was closed. "It's gave her more chances, I guess," she said.
"Definitely it was a big change. I was very comfortable playing outside. I guess it's two different games. One you play inside, one you play outside,” she added.
"Definitely angry... why should I not be? The game was going my way. Why did they have to close it today? I didn't get it. That was why I was angry. I didn't get the rule at all. Closing the roof middle of the match, I don't get it,” a furious Kuznetsova said.
Spain's Fernando Verdasco benefited from the cooler conditions created by the closed roof and rolled men's fifth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6 3-6 6-3 6-2. The 14th seed showed no ill-effects from his gruelling five-set victory over Britain's Andy Murray in his previous match as he overwhelmed Tsonga in a little under three hours.
Verdasco's semi-final opponent will be either his fellow Spanish lefthander Rafa Nadal or another Frenchman, Gilles Simon. Melbourne is braced for its hottest week in 100 years as meteorologists predict five consecutive days above 40 for the first time since 1908.
The tournament referee can halt matches if the "heat stress index" reaches a predetermined level. The index is a complex, combined measurement of temperature, heat radiation, wind, and humidity.
Earlier, Dementieva was relieved she did not have to linger on court for too long in the brutal conditions to beat Suarez Navarro.
"It was very tough to play because of the weather conditions," Dementieva said.
"I think you can work so hard trying to get ready for the weather condition, but when you have to face 40 or 41, there is no way you can get used to it. The best way is to play as quick as possible and just get away from the court. I mean, there is no way to adjust with the heat here,” she added.
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