Henin dumps Serena, Djokovic through

NEW YORK, Sep 5 (Reuters) Justine Henin maintained her recent grand slam mastery over Serena Williams with a 7-6 6-1 triumph in the quarter-finals of the US Open.

Henin, who knocked out Williams in the same round at both Wimbledon and the French Open, outslugged the eight-times grand slam champion yesterday before 23,000 in Arthur Ashe Stadium.

On the men's side, third seed Novak Djokovic advanced to the Open quarters for the first time with a 7-5 7-6 6-7 6-1 triumph over Argentine Juan Monaco.

Other fourth-round winners included former world number one Carlos Moya of Spain and Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela.

In the big draw evening match, top seed Henin survived a set point at 5-6 before storming through the tiebreaker 7-3. Williams never recovered, falling behind 3-0 in the second set.

''I was a bit concerned during the first set because I wasn't aggressive enough,'' said Henin. ''Then from the tiebreak until the end, I played unbelievable tennis.

''I've been aggressive like the number one player in the world, just trying to dictate the points. I'm very happy to beat her here in this stadium, in a great atmosphere.'' Henin's win was her first over Williams on the hard courts and levelled her career record against the double Open champion at 6-6.

She will now face either Serena's sister, 12th seeded Venus Williams, or number three Jelena Jankovic in the semi-finals.

Williams committed 28 unforced errors against only 17 winners but refused to give Henin credit for raising her game in the 36-minute second set.

''She made a lot of lucky shots, and I made a lot of errors,'' a teary eyed Williams said before conceding, ''I've got to go back and study and figure out how to beat her. That's it. Bottom line.'' INSPIRED TENNIS Djokovic, 20, needed three hours and 53 minutes to subdue Monaco, a 23-year-old who had never won a match at Flushing Meadows before this year.

The 23rd seed Monaco played some inspired tennis, saving a match point in the third set before winning it 8-6 on a tiebreak.

Djokovic, however, played an aggressive 34-minute fourth set to gain a spot in the last eight. The hard-hitting Serb had 14 aces but 59 unforced errors in the winning effort.

''For me it was a bit surprising that he was stepping it up,'' said Djokovic. ''He was staying close to the line and he was being aggressive. He tried to take over the control of the match.

''He made my points and games very, very difficult. So I had to fight for every point. And I had to stay right there with him, which I did in the end.'' Moya, 31, gained a spot in the last eight by surviving a courageous challenge from 19-year-old Latvian Ernests Gulbis to win 7-5 6-2 6-7 6-4 in two-and-a-half hours.

''These kind of matches, they're the ones that keep me very motivated,'' said Moya, who will face Djokovic in the quarters.

Chela, the 20th seed, outlasted unseeded Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka 4-6 6-2 7-6 1-6 6-4 to reach his first Open quarter-final.

REUTERS TB RAI0955