Sports

Henin, Sharapova enter quarters

Henin, Sharapova enter quarters

By Associated Press

Melbourne, January 20:

Justine Henin and Maria Sharapova set up a quarter-final showdown at the Australian Open today.

The top-ranked Henin beat Hsieh Su-wei 6-2, 6-2 to extend her winning streak to 32 matches. She next faces Maria Sharapova, who routed No 11 Elena Dementieva 6-2, 6-0.

Defending champion Serena Williams registered a 6-4, 6-4 win over No 12-ranked Nicole Vaidisova. Williams next plays No 3 Jelena Jankovic, a 7-6 (3), 6-1 winner over Australia’s Casey Dellacqua.

The women’s fast work followed the drama on Saturday that started with a rare five-setter for Roger Federer and carried on until Lleyton Hewitt finished off Marcos Baghdatis not long before dawn on Sunday.

Former No 1 Carlos Ferrero beat 10th-seeded DavidNalbandian 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 in a third-round match postponed by rain on Saturday. In another third-rounder, No 5 David Ferrer beat American Vincent Spadea 6-3, 6-3, 6-2. Ferrero will play Ferrer next.

No 24 Jarkko Nieminen beat Philipp Kohlschreiber 3-6, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (9), 6-3 and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga edged No 8 and Richard Gasquet 6-2, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (6), 6-3.

In women’s third-round matches, No 9 Daniela Hantuchova beat Virginia Ruano Pascual 6-2, 6-3, No 14 Nadia Petrova defeated Ekaterina Makarova 6-1, 7-6 (8), and Marta Domachowska overcame China’s Li Na 2-6, 6-2, 6-4. Novak Djokovic, ousted Sam Querrey 6-3, 6-1, 6-3.