Serena and Clijsters Set Up Semi-final Showdown

Serena Williams negotiated the quarter-finals at the Australian Open for the first time this morning, to set up a semi-final meeting with Belgium's Kim Clijsters.

Williams pounded fellow American Meghann Shaughnessy into submission 6-2, 6-2, while Clijsters ousted eighth seed Anastasia Myskina 6-2, 6-4 overnight.

Both victories took little more than an hour and promised fireworks when the world number one and Belgian fourth seed collide tomorrow.

Just minutes after swamping Shaughnessy, Williams was looking eagerly ahead to her next hurdle, but seemed wary of the threat posed by the in-form Clijsters.

The last time the pair met in a major tournament was last November, when Clijsters won to lift the WTA Championships.

Suggestions of revenge for Serena provoked an unusual response. "Vengeance belongs to God. I am just here to play tennis," she said.

"You know, I don't like to live in the past and you can feel free to look up the last transcripts and see why I lost that match against Kim."

Clijsters has won the last three tournaments she has played, including that WTA Championships, and she is again likely to pose a serious threat to Williams after her comfortable victory over Myskina.

"I'm sitting here in the semi-final and I haven't lost a set yet. For my energy that is good, I'm feeling very fresh still" she said.

"Against Venus or Serena you'll have to run a lot so it is definitely a good sign not to have played too many sets or spent too much time on court."

In tomorrow's other semi-final, Venus Williams meets Belgium's other survivor, Justine Henin-Hardenne.