Four-time women's champion Serena Williams has staged one of the biggest comebacks in her extraordinary Australian Open career to progress to the semi-finals of the year's first Grand Slam, coming from a set and two breaks down to defeat No.7 seed Victoria Azarenka.
Williams, the No.1 seed, looked set for a stunning departure when on the back of some horrible serving trailed her Belorussian opponent 4-6 0-4. But the 11-time Grand Slam title winner scrapped her way back into the contest before prevailing 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 in a contest which lasted two hours and 27 minutes.
She will now face No.16 seed Li Na, who had earlier caused one of the bigger upsets of the tournament when she eliminated Williams' sister Venus 2-6 7-6 (7-4) 7-5.
The best and worst of the younger Williams sister was on display on the second match on Rod Laver Arena as she let the 20-year-old control the match and get within touching distance of her first appearance in a Grand Slam semi-final.
A champion in Melbourne in 2003, 2005 2007 and 2009, Williams, who hadn’t dropped a set in the tournament before this point simply powered her way back to form, with 57 winners in total, finishing all over Azarenka who will feel she missed a golden opportunity.
It was a slow start to the match, with the first three games taking some 28 minutes to complete. Williams was broken in the first game, setting the scene for a set which saw five breaks of serve.
When the No.1 seed was broken in the seventh game, she trailed 2-5 and looked in serious trouble. While was able to rally back with a break in the next game and saved two set-points on her own serve in the ninth, the Belarusian served it out for a one-set lead.
Williams' opening set service had been truly horrible, winning just 17 of the 39 points on her serve and nine of the 20 first serves she landed, while she made 23 unforced errors.
Things got much worse for Williams in the early part of the second set as she managed just four points in the first four games, all on her own serve. While in the first set she was able to put some pressure on her opponent's serve, Azarenka raced to a 4-0 lead without dropping a service point.
The four-time champion eventually got on the board in the fifth game in an almighty struggle and then showed some signs of a comeback when she broke Azarenka. The momentum of the contest swung dramatically and Williams raced back into the contest on the back of a succession of winners, securing five straight games.
For the first time in the match, both women served strongly at the back end of the second set, which went to a tie-breaker. Azarenka took the early running, leading 3-1, but Williams hit back hard, using her power game to overwhelm her opponent. A 5-4, with points back on serve, the world No.1 won successive points off Azarenka's serve to prevail 7-4 and force it to a decider.
When Williams broke Azarenka to love in the third game, it was apparent that the American had wrested control. Another break in the fifth game and the frustration was starting to show on the world No.7.
While Azarenka made her serve it out, Williams secured a memorable victory when her opponent smashed a return into the net pole.