MELBOURNE, Australia - Marat Safin ended top-ranked Roger Federer's 26-match winning streak in a classic Australian Open semifinal, outlasting the defending champion 5-7, 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (6), 9-7 in a dazzling 4½-hour match.

Safin, the No. 4 seed trying to regain the No. 1 ranking he held briefly after winning the U.S. Open in 2000, overcame an unusually jittery Federer, who hadn't dropped a set in five previous matches here, including a quarterfinal domination of Andre Agassi.

Federer received treatment for elbow and back pain in the fifth set, then saved six match points before Safin broke him with a forehand into an open court as Federer watched from his knees as the match actually ended Friday morning at 12:25 a.m.

Safin next meets the winner of Friday night's semifinal between second-ranked Andy Roddick and No. 3 Lleyton Hewitt.

In the women's draw, Serena Williams simply refused to be outplayed by Maria Sharapova this time.

At her best under pressure, the seventh-seeded Williams fended off three match points and beat Sharapova 2-6, 7-5, 8-6 on Thursday to put her in the finals of the Australian Open.

"I thought, 'OK, I could do this," Williams said. "Two times in a row back from match point down ... this is such a special court for me."

Williams, who avenged her loss to Sharapova in the Wimbledon final and stretched her winning streak at the Australian Open to 13 matches, will face top-ranked Lindsay Davenport for the championship.

Davenport looked lethargic after playing more than four hours the previous day, but rallied to hold off No. 19 Nathalie Dechy of France 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4.

Williams, seeking her seventh Grand Slam title but first since 2003 after a series of injuries, blamed her loss to Sharapova at Wimbledon last year on nerves. She came out tight again today, spraying balls all over.

Even Williams couldn't seem to believe her inaccuracy, testing her swing after mistakes, shaking her head and even laughing. In the first game of the second set, a ballboy bounced a ball at Williams that she smacked into the stands in frustration after losing a point.

"I was battling Maria and myself," she said.

She quickly rebounded, and pounded the fastest serve of the women's tournament at 124 mph - but not without a few more close calls along the way.

The 17-year-old Sharapova, who also beat Williams in the season-ending WTA Championships, served for the match at 5-4 in the second set and again at 5-4 in the third.

With her powerful forehand finally under control, Williams saved three match points in the third set, then broke to even the match at 5-5. She saved three break points while serving at 7-6 as both players grunted on every hit and pumped their fists on every winner.

After smacking a forehand down the line to finish off the match, Williams leapt three times in the air as she approached the net, shook Sharapova's hand, then crouched and pumped her fist as the crowd roared.

"I think it definitely lived up to expectations," Williams said of her showdown with Sharapova. "It was a lot of fun ... I can't believe it's over, I feel like I should still be playing."

The third set lasted 66 minutes, and the crowd cheered and groaned on every point, seemingly not wanting the match to end.

"I played from my heart. I didn't take my chances. That's what this game is all about," Sharapova said.

Still, she was upbeat.

"There's nothing negative - I'm 17 years old and I've made it to the semifinals of the Australian Open," she said. "Of course I'm sad, it's a tough one to lose. But I've got a long way ahead of me."

Davenport is healthy after a bout of bronchitis just before the Australian Open, where she won her last Grand Slam title in 2000. But she was tight after a 21/2-hour quarterfinal victory Friday that was followed by more than 11/2 hours in a doubles match that put her and partner Corina Morariu in the finals.

It showed. She finished with 48 winners and 52 enforced errors - but only 11 in the final set as she finally loosened up.

"It's been a long two days. I woke up this morning, I just felt pretty tight all over," she said. "It wasn't my greatest day playing tennis - but I'll take it."

Davenport said it was ironic that she made it to the final.

"This whole tournament has been such an awkward and different experience," she said. "At the U.S. Open, I was playing so well and felt like everything was going my way, not a problem. And get to the semis, a little injury comes up, and don't make it through. Here, I feel like I'm not playing that well, I'm struggling through all these matches, and I'm in the finals."

Dechy, seeded 19th, was in a Grand Slam semifinal for the first time after failing to get past the fourth round in 36 previous majors. The 25-year-old Frenchwoman was only two points from winning the match at 5-4 in the tiebreaker, before Davenport won three consecutive points to force it into a deciding third set.