Beijing Olympic gold medalist Elena Dementieva is the first woman to reach the 2008 US Open semifinals.

Dementieva handily defeated Patty Schnyder of Switzerland in straight sets 6-2, 6-3 on Tuesday.

The Russian No. 3 cruised into the final four at Flushing Meadows in seventy-six minutes. Dementieva, who has a storied history of serving woes, hit only two double-faults and served with an 80% first serve percentage.

Dementieva will face second seed Jelena Jankovic in the semifinal round.

Former world number one Jelena Jankovic defeated Austria’s Sybille Bammer in two sets 6-1, 6-4. She holds a 4-3 career match record against Dementieva. However, Dementieva won their last meeting in three sets on clay in Berlin earlier this year.