Dinara Safina felt a more aggressive approach on court was key to her claiming a place in the Australian Open final with a 6-3 7-6 (7-4) victory over Vera Zvonareva.

The third seed is a player renowned for going for her shots and yesterday was no exception.

"At least I was going for something. If I was missing, at least it was (attempting) a winning shot. But it's not like I was pushing and the ball was flying," she added.

She was far happier with her performance than after her three-set win against Alize Cornet, especially with a final against Serena Williams looming.

"I always knew that I'm playing (okay), but I'm not using all my potential that I have. I was not aggressive and I was waiting for their mistakes and not using all of my shots.