Seventh-seeded Vera Zvonareva continued to display excellent form as she swept away France's Marion Bartoli in straight sets (6:3, 6:0) in only the second grand slam quarterfinal of her career.
Zvonareva, 24, who has yet to drop a set in the competition, said after her win, "It was a great match today for me because Marion is a very good player."
Zvonareva will now face in the semifinals compatriot and number three-seed, Dinara Safina, who defeated the home favorite and wild-card entry, Jelena Dokic, in an emotionally charged three setter (6:4, 4:6, 6:4).
With at least one Russian player assured a place in the final the focus now moves to Wednesday's quarterfinals, where Russia's Elena Dementieva and Svetlana Kuznetsova will attempt to make it through to a second all-Russian semifinal.
Beijing Olympic gold medalist and fourth seed Dementieva will take on the unseeded Carla Suarez Navarro from Spain in the day's first quarterfinal. Dementieva, who has never made it past the fourth round at Melbourne Park before, said she was not expecting an easy match against the 20-year-old Navarro.
"She's got a lot of talent and she's physically fit," Dementieva said, and added that she considered Safina or three-time champion Serena Williams to be favorite to lift the championship trophy.
Kuznetsova, who lines up against second-seed Williams in the other quarterfinal on Wednesday, said she was confident she could beat the American despite her current erratic form.
Eighth-seeded Kuznetsova, the 2004 U.S. Open champion, has made it to the quarterfinals despite struggling to find her form in Australia. "I'm confident in myself and I just want to play my best and go out there with motivation and fight with spirit," she said.
