Melbourne, Australia (Betting Express) - Serena Williams hasn't been the same since her loss to Maria Sharapova in the last year's Wimbledon final. Maybe a bit of revenge will get her back on track.

The seventh-seeded American downed the Russian sensation in three tough sets Thursday to advance to the Australian Open final, fending off three Sharapova match points on the way to a 2-6, 7-5, 8-6 victory.

Sharapova, the fourth seed, abandoned her trademark yelp after a bathroom break following the tough second set, and the result was obvious. As she grew silent, so did her ground strokes.

That allowed Williams to take the early third-set lead, and it seemed like she might steamroll Sharapova the way she did opponents in her days as the world's top player.

But Sharapova rebounded as her shriek returned, and a break in the seventh game reversed the match's momentum.

Williams then fought off three match points in the 10th game, coming back with a break to pull even at 5-5. That silenced Sharapova once again, and Williams served for a 6-5 lead.

After battling through three break points during her next serve, Williams grabbed a 7-6 edge.

She went ahead 40-15 in the next game by pouncing on a Sharapova drop shot and firing it down the line. The clincher came on a powerful backhand to the corner -- Williams' 33rd winner of the game.

For Williams, it was more than just revenge for Wimbledon. Sharapova also defeated Serena later in 2004 with a three-set title match victory at the WTA Tour Championships.

But in this one, Sharapova committed 30 more unforced errors (51) than winners (21). Williams' margin of 53 errors to 33 winners, although not spectacular, was a bit easier to overcome.

Sharapova fell to 1-1 in Grand Slam semifinals and 2-2 all-time against Williams.

A six-time Grand Slam champion who titled in Melbourne two years ago, Williams improved to 8-3 in Grand Slam semis and set up a final meeting with either top-seeded American Lindsay Davenport or 19th-seeded Nathalie Dechy of France.