MELBOURNE - Roger Federer was at his dominant best Wednesday to book a place in the Australian Open semifinals as Ana Ivanovic brought Venus Williams' tournament to a halt.

Serbia's Novak Djokovic celebrates winning his quarterfinal match against Spain's David Ferrer at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne yesterday. [Agencies] The Swiss ace kept his cool in two close-fought sets against 12th seeded American James Blake before running away a 7-5, 7-6 (5), 6-4 winner and will face Serbian third seed Novak Djokovic for a place in the final.

Standing between Ivanovic and a final appearance is Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova, who blew Polish teenager Agnieszka Radwanska off court 6-2, 6-2, as she continues her comeback after a dive in the rankings.

In beating Blake, Federer reached a record 15th consecutive Grand Slam semi and secured the No 1 ranking for a record 209th week.

"It's great being on top of the game for so long and being compared to greats like Rod Laver and Pete Sampras, it's great being part of the pinnacle of the sport in every Grand Slam I'm playing in," Federer said.

Federer, who is on track to face second seed Rafael Nadal in Sunday's final, will remain the world No 1 ranked player for the tournament following his victory over Blake.

"I heard rumors I could lose it (top ranking), but we're a long shot away of 'I got to lose, he's got to win'," Federer said.

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