Melbourne, Australia ? Roger Federer moved within one victory of his 14th Grand Slam title with another dominating victory, ousting Andy Roddick 6-2, 7-5, 7-5 Thursday to reach the Australian Open final.

Roddick, who undertook a rigorous offseason training regime designed to help him beat Federer and top-ranked Rafael Nadal, was in good form.

But second-ranked Federer outplayed him in every phase of the game. Ripping winners from all over the court and usually forcing Roddick to hit more than one good shot to win a point, he even had more aces than the hard-serving American, 16-8.

Federer, seeking his fourth Australian title, will face the winner of Friday?s semifinal between Nadal and fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco.

The women?s final matchup was set earlier in the day. Serena Williams was calm, collected and cool ? with the Rod Laver Arena roof closed to keep out Melbourne?s oppressive heat wave ? to end Olympic champion Elena Dementieva?s 15-match winning streak with a 6-3, 6-4 victory.

All that stands between her and a 10th Grand Slam title is third-seeded Dinara Safina, who is hungry to take home her first major trophy to go along with the two that brother Marat Safin has earned. Safina ousted fellow Russian Vera Zvonareva 6-3, 7-6 (4) in the other semifinal. The winner Saturday also will rise to the No. 1 ranking.

By the time Federer and Roddick were on court in the evening, temperatures had dropped to 91 F (33 C) from 112 F (44.3 C) in the afternoon ? news reports called it Melbourne?s hottest January day since 1939 ? so the retractable roof was open.

That would seem to have given Roddick, who grew up in the heat of Texas and Florida, an edge. /AP