Mon Mar 31 17:53:51 2008

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Henin, Serena, Venus cruise; Davenport bows out in Miami

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Miami, FL (Sports Network) - World No. 1 Justine Henin, four-time and reigning champion Serena Williams and three-time Miami titlist Venus Williams were a trio of easy fourth-round winners, while former top-ranked star Lindsay Davenport exited the $3.77 million Sony Ericsson Open on Monday.

The top-seeded Henin, the reigning French and U.S. Open champ, handled Russian Elena Vesnina 6-2, 6-2 on Day 6 at Crandon Park. Henin was last year's Miami runner-up to Serena, who will oppose the Belgian star here, again, in this year's quarterfinals.

An eighth-seeded Serena subdued Estonian Kaia Kanepi 6-3, 6-3 to setup the showdown with Henin. Serena is seeking her fifth title here in seven years, having captured the event from 2002-04 and again last year.

Henin and the former No. 1 Serena will meet for a 13th time, with the two stars splitting their first 12 encounters. The Belgian has won their last three matchups, all in Grand Slam quarterfinals last year after the American prevailed in the '07 blockbuster Miami finale.

The sixth-seeded Venus waltzed past 17-year-old Dane Caroline Wozniacki 6-3, 6-3, as the big American seeks a fourth career title at this event. The reigning Wimbledon champion Venus captured this tournament in 1998, 1999 and 2001.

The former top-ranked Venus' quarterfinal opponent will be third-seeded Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova, who moved on with a 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 victory over 16th-seeded Israeli Shahar Peer. Kuznetsova was the Miami champ two years ago.

A 32nd-seeded Davenport succumbed to 13th-seeded Russian Dinara Safina 6-3, 6-4 just one day after ousting Australian and French Open runner-up Ana Ivanovic. A flat Davenport piled up 34 unforced errors against Safina.

Fourth-seeded Serbian Jelena Jankovic reached the round of eight with a 6-4, 7-5 decision against Chinese Jie Zheng, while two-time Grand Slam runner-up Elena Dementieva of Russia, the 10th seed, pasted German wild card Sabine Lisicki 6-3, 6-2. Jankovic and Dementieva will square off in the quarters.

The 2008 Miami champion will collect $590,000.