A 23rd grand slam is firmly in sight for Serena Williams after the second seed powered past Johanna Konta and into the Australian Open semi-finals on Wednesday.

British ninth seed Konta was simply no match for Williams, who showcased her strength and power in a comprehensive 6-2 6-3 win on Rod Laver Arena.

There was a spring in Williams' step as she reached her 10th successive grand slam semi-final - and 34th in total - after one hour, 15 minutes.

Standing in the way of the 35-year-old American and an eighth Australian Open final is veteran and Cinderella story Mirjana Lucic-Baroni.

Williams had failed to convince heading into the quarter-finals, especially after her struggles on serve in the last 16 against Barbora Strycova.

But there was nothing to doubt about Williams, especially in the opening set.

Williams earned a break point in the fourth game and converted after Konta netted a forehand.

Konta - winner of the Sydney International heading into the tournament - had only been broken twice prior to the last-eight clash and she dropped serve again as Williams took out the first set.

Williams flexed her muscles and looked to have Konta firmly on the back foot but the latter fended off three break points in the first service game of the second set from 0-40.

And that kick-started Konta, who then broke a clearly frustrated Williams for a 3-1 lead after consolidating.

But her hard work came undone as she double faulted at 0-30 to eventually gift the break back to Williams.

Williams never looked back, breaking again in the eighth game before serving out the match to love.

STATISTICAL BREAKDOWN

Williams [2] bt Konta [9] 6-2 6-3

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Williams – 25/21
Konta – 11/22

ACES
Williams – 10
Konta – 2

BREAK POINTS WON
Williams – 4/8
Konta – 1/3

FIRST SERVE PERCENTAGE
Williams – 45
Konta – 60

PERCENTAGE OF POINTS WON ON FIRST/SECOND SERVE
Williams – 88
Konta – 50

TOTAL POINTS
Williams – 63
Konta – 45