Third seeded Russian stalwart, Dinara Safina, would have none of it! The six foot powerhouse stood tall against the heat and an animated gallery in a beautifully played women’s singles match that came down to the last set, the last game and the last groundstroke. With on-court temperatures reaching 120 degrees Fahrenheit, Safina’s new training and fitness preparation may have been the difference in a match the imposing Russian would not have won a year ago.

In Australia, the story of the year’s first Grand Slam has been the rejuvenation of the remarkable Jelena Dokic. The gutsy Australian has mounted comeback after comeback and seemed destined to defy the experts once again against her taller opponent. Spurred on by a boisterous home crowd, Dokic’s amazing return to top form will finally boost her standings into the top 100 women players. Once the number four player in the world, Dokic now stands at number 187.

Since separating herself from her controversial father and manager, Jelena has recommitted herself to a strenuous fitness and practice regimen. With this increased preparation, has come re-born confidence. Now living with her mother in Sydney, Australia has embraced their resurrected star. Experts are already predicting big things for Jelena during the 2009 season.

With the hometown crowd and the intense heat bearing down on Safina, the three seed showed championship form in coping with the pressure. Although double faulting eleven times, Dinara kept her composure and ebbed several momentum swings.

In the tense third set, Dokic broke back in the eighth game to put the set on serve. Dinara showed her mettle by relying on a series of devastating baseline forehands to take command of the match for the last time. After breaking Jelena for the second time in the set, Safina won the first three points of her deciding service game.

The third seed will play her improved Russian teammate and seventh seed, Vera Zvonareva, in the semi-final matchup of two players very much on their games. Zvonareva completely dominated Marion Bartoli in her quarter-final pairing.

The midday heat clearly disagreed with the laboring Bartoli, who seemed anxious to leave the court following her 6-3, 6-0 dismantling. Bartoli showed none of the attributes that enabled her win over top seed Jelena Jankovic.

The fierce Russian competitors are both seeking their first Grand Slam championship. Both players are remarkably fit. As all spectators have come to realize, the Australian Open is as much about fitness as it is about tennis skills. With a severe heat wave predicted for the next few days, players that arrived in Melbourne properly conditioned have earned their way to the semi-finals, while players ill-prepared have fallen by the wayside.

Zvonareva and Safina could well be joined by another powerful Russian, fourth seeded Elena Dementieva, who has a quarter final date with the pesky Carla Suarez Navarro. Now that Dokic is finished, Suarez Navarro has captured the Cinderella role. The Australian audience will most likely unite behind the 5’5” upstart, but, like her teammates, Dementieva looks fit and ready for the heat and the rowdy crowds.