Venus romps in Australia

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Venus Williams waltzed into the Australian Open quarterfinals. Justine Henin-Hardenne just about had to crawl there, writhing with leg cramps near the end of her three-set victory over Lindsay Davenport.

"I thought I was going to die," Henin-Hardenne said. "But I played with heart and just went for it."

After being treated on court with ice, the Belgian defeated the once top-ranked Davenport 7-5, 5-7, 9-7 in 3 hours, 13 minutes.

Williams enjoyed a far easier outing Sunday, beating Nicole Pratt of Australia 6-3, 6-2 in 77 minutes. She is on course for a possible semifinal with Henin-Hardenne and a potential fourth straight Grand Slam final against younger sister Serena.

Henin-Hardenne had just missed on one match point and was tied 7-7 with Davenport, a player she had never beaten. Then she was down on the court, clutching her leg. Following her courtside treatment, she went back out for her second serve at 0-15 and whipped an ace into the far corner.

Davenport said she knew Henin-Hardenne would return to the court, even to "just stand there." Instead, Davenport said, "she was running for some balls and coming up with some good shots and still serving quite well and at a fairly high speed."

Davenport, winner of three Grand Slam events, including the 2000 Australian Open, called it the longest, most dramatic match she has played.

"I can't kick myself too much because I've never quite been in that situation. ... If someone can come up with a lot of winners and a lot of great shots, then that's too good," the ninth-seeded Davenport said.

The contest fell eight games and 20 minutes short of the Australian Open's record for longest women's match. In 1996, Chanda Rubin, who is in the fourth round this year, beat Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario 6-4, 2-6, 16-14 in 3:33.

The fifth-seeded Henin-Hardenne won the first set and went up 4-1 in the second. But Davenport won 10 of the next 12 games and led 4-1 lead in the final set. After Henin-Hardenne broke serve three times to make it 5-5 -- rebounding from 40-15 in the eighth game -- Davenport saved a match point in the 14th and reached 7-all.

Henin-Hardenne was in pain and cramping after the match.

"I hope it's just a cramp," she said.

Henin-Hardenne, who was married in November, next plays 63rd-ranked Virginia Ruano Pascual of Spain, a 6-3, 6-3 winner over 62nd-ranked Denisa Chladkova of the Czech Republic.

This was Henin-Hardenne's first victory in six meetings with Davenport, who missed most of last season after knee surgery but came back to reach the U.S. Open semifinals.

Second-seeded Venus Williams saved 11 break points in her victory over Pratt. She next plays No. 7 Daniela Hantuchova, who extended Venus to three sets in the Australian Open last year and is in her third consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal. Hantuchova beat No. 12 Patty Schnyder 7-5, 6-3.

Serena, who beat Venus for the title in the French Open, U.S. Open and Wimbledon last year, plays her fourth-round match today against No. 18 Eleni Daniilidou of Greece. She missed last year's Australian Open with a twisted ankle.

Venus suspects Hantuchova will be motivated in trying to beat her for the first time.

"She has played some tough matches against some players who have come out hot against her, and she has come through," Williams said.

Hantuchova, a 19-year-old Slovakian, said she lacked experience when she came close to beating Venus last year.