Henin Maintains Hold On Serena

NEW YORK - Maybe Serena Williams wasn't as healthy as she said. Maybe she wasn't as match-tested as she really needed to be.

This much is certain: When it comes to playing Justine Henin at Grand Slams this year, Williams has been overmatched every time.

Finding all the right angles and hanging tough on long rallies, Henin beat Williams 7-6 (3), 6-1 Tuesday night to reach the U.S. Open semifinals. They have met in the quarterfinals at three consecutive majors, and Henin is 3-0.

Asked if she could explain what went wrong, a sullen Williams replied: 'No. I can't. I'm sorry. Any more questions?'

'She made a lot of lucky shots,' Williams said a moment later, a white baseball cap pulled low over her eyes, 'and I made a lot of errors.'

So while the formerly No. 1-ranked Williams is the active leader among women with eight Grand Slam titles and will stay on that number, current No. 1 Henin will have a chance to get her seventh major.

'Playing Serena is really exciting for me,' Henin said after compiling a 30-17 edge in winners. 'I was really happy about the second set. I played much more aggressive.'

Henin's next opponent could be another Williams: Serena's older sister, Venus, faces No. 3 Jelena Jankovic in the quarterfinals tonight. Not much question for whom Henin will be rooting - she's 1-7 against Venus Williams, 7-0 against Jankovic.

Their matchup at Wimbledon in July didn't feature Serena Williams at her absolute best: She could barely hit backhand after spraining her left thumb and hurting her left calf in the previous round. Because of the thumb, Williams withdrew from every event she was scheduled to play in the 1 1/2 months between Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

'I don't think that affected me,' she said. 'I don't think it did. Maybe it did.'

She arrived at Flushing Meadows full of confidence, as usual, and said she didn't need tuneup tournaments to get ready. While Williams' thumb appeared fine, and there were no obvious injuries, her father said Sunday that she was dealing with other physical problems - and doing a 'marvelous job of hiding it.'

Regardless, Tuesday's match featured brilliant play by both past U.S. Open champions, from stinging serves to big groundstrokes to touch volleys. Henin was far better at the net, winning 11 of 14 points when she pressed forward, while Williams was only 5-for-14.

Mostly, though, the difference-maker was Henin's ability to steer Williams this way and that along the baseline until the Belgian could find an opening for her smooth backhand or a well-placed forehand. Repeatedly, especially in the second set, Henin wrong-footed Williams to end a point.

As compelling as the story lines were for Henin-Williams, the match turned out to be far less competitive than the men's fourth-round action earlier Tuesday.

Put it this way: A weary Novak Djokovic was relieved to pocket his victory.

The No. 3-seeded Djokovic reached the U.S. Open quarterfinals for the first time by beating No. 23 Juan Monaco 7-5, 7-6 (2), 6-7 (6), 6-1 in a match that included the unusual sight of Monaco losing a point because a ball fell out of his shorts.

He was serving while ahead 5-3 in the third-set tiebreaker when the players settled into an extended baseline exchange. As Monaco whipped a shot, an extra yellow ball he had tucked away in case of a fault popped out of his pocket - the second time it happened during the match. He stopped playing, dropped his racket, doubled over and screamed, knowing what was coming.

'Right away I knew I lost that point. It's very weird,' Monaco said. 'That sort of thing cannot happen twice in the same match.'

Chair umpire Jake Garner had no choice.

Djokovic gladly took it.

'I never had this situation in match,' he said. 'First-time experience.'

It got Djokovic to 5-4, and he held a match point at 6-5. Monaco saved that with a service winner, and eventually won that set. But Djokovic grabbed a 3-0 lead in the fourth set and wound up winning in 3 hours, 53 minutes.

Djokovic now faces No. 17 Carlos Moya. The 31-year-old Moya is the oldest man still in the tournament, and the player he beat 7-5, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-4 Tuesday, 19-year-old Ernests Gulbis of Latvia, was the youngest left.

Like Djokovic, Chela reached his first U.S. Open quarterfinal. Moya, however, has been there before - although not since 1998.

'Still beating these young guys,' Moya said. 'I feel like 20 years old.'