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Fourth seed Elena Dementieva eased into the Wimbledon semi-finals for the second successive year after crushing unseeded Italian Francesca Schiavone 6-2 6-2.

Dementieva made it to the last four at the All England Club for the first time last year before losing to eventual champion Venus Williams.

The Russian will hope to go one step further this time when she faces Serena Williams, the second seed and two-time champion who downed eighth seed Victoria Azarenka 6-2 6-3.

Since losing the finals of the French and US Opens in 2004, Dementieva has been unable to make it to the title match of a Grand Slam.

But she did win Olympic gold in Beijing last year and the 27-year-old has gradually grown more comfortable on grass as well.

"It's a completely different situation to the semi-final last year," Dementieva said. "It was a great experience being in the semis then but this time I'm going to play a different player.

"It's always very interesting to play against someone like Serena. She's a great champion and it's going to be a good experience for me.

"I want to see how tough I can be against her. I'm just looking for a good fight. I've had some good matches so far and the most important thing will be to stay focused and to play aggressive."

"To have my mom with me all the time is the biggest support. I just feel very lucky to have her with me all the time.

"She's been coaching me for such a long time and she knows me better than anyone else. She knows exactly what I need. It feels great to be with her."

While Dementieva had reached the last eight without dropping a set, Schiavone's route had been much more arduous.

The 29-year-old London-based Italian had to overcome three seeds, including former Wimbledon finalist Marion Bartoli, to make it beyond the fourth round here for first time.

But she was out of her depth against Dementieva and the Russian was always the more polished performer after breaking in the second game.

Schiavone, who had never been past the last eight of a Grand Slam, wasted several chances to break back and then netted a simple volley to gift Dementieva a second break.

The Italian pulled a couple of games back but a double-fault sealed the first set for Dementieva.

There was no let-up from Dementieva in the second set and she broke for a 3-1 lead and closed out the match in emphatic fashion.

AFP