Serena Williams of the United States reacts after losing a point to Justine Henin of Belgium at the U.S. Open on Tuesday night. Henin won the quarter-final match 7-6, 6-1. - Reuters NEW YORK (AP):
SCRAP THAT Venus vs. Serena matchup at the United States Open. Cancel Rafa vs. Roger, too.
The tournament took a sharp twist on Tuesday night - and early Wednesday - when a pair of fan favourites at Flushing Meadows got knocked out.
First, it was Serena Williams. Top-seeded Justine Henin beat her for the third straight time in a Grand Slam quarter-final, making it look easy at the end in a 7-6 (3), 6-1 victory.
"I just think she made a lot of lucky shots, and I made a lot of errors," said Williams, who was eliminated in a grand slam quarter-final for the third time this year by Henin, who also ousted the American at the French Open and Wimbledon.
Asked if she felt she had lost the match rather than Henin winning it, the two-time Open champion said: "I think that's usually the case with me, that it's for me to win or lose.
"I really don't feel like talking about it, to be honest. I don't want to get fined," the eighth seed said, referring to penalties imposed for missing post-match news conferences. "That's the only reason I came. I can't afford to pay the fines because I keep losing."
Next up for Henin might be Serena's sister. Venus Williams played number three Jelena Jankovic in the quarters last night, and the winner gets Henin in the semis. Henin does not need to say who she'd prefer to play: she's 1-7 against Venus, 7-0 against Jankovic.
"Every match is a final for me now," Henin said. "If I have to play Venus, it will be a good challenge for me to play both sisters in the same tournament."
Nadal's loss
Second-seed Rafael Nadal of Spain waves as he leaves the court after being defeated in four sets by David Ferrer of Spain at the United States Open. - AP
A lot of tennis fans were looking forward to seeing Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer meet in a third straight Grand Slam final. That won't happen now - 15th-seeded David Ferrer upset the second-seeded Nadal 6-7 (3), 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-2 in a fourth-round match that ended at 1:50 a.m.
"Sure there is disappointment for me, but that is tennis," Nadal said.
The lower deck at Arthur Ashe Stadium was still nearly full when Nadal's last shot sailed long at 1:50 a.m. It came close to the latest ending at the U.S. Open - back in 1993, Mats Wilander finished off Mikael Pernfors at 2:26 a.m. Nadal's loss included a scene rarely seen: the energetic Spaniard wincing and dropping to the court. That happened right in front of his family's box late in the match when he simply wore down.
Nadal came into the tournament with bad knees, and the left-hander needed ice for his racquet hand late in the match.
"I prefer not to speak about my body right now," Nadal said, adding it would sound like an excuse.
Nadal and Federer split the previous two Slams; Nadal beat him in the French Open, Federer avenged that at Wimbledon.
"Tonight," Ferrer said, "all was perfect."
Well, almost.
Early in the match, Ferrer was bothered by the overhead video screens at both ends, which sometimes show live shots during play. He complained to the chair umpire, who had tournament referee Brian Earley come out to discuss it.
"It's unbelievable," Ferrer told Earley. "It's impossible to focus."
Earley said the screens would stay on, that was the policy.
"He said it was distracting him. This is his first time playing on this court, so you can understand it," Earley said. "But we're not turning it off."
