Williams sisters help extend American quarterfinal record at Australian Open

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Williams sisters add to American record

MELBOURNE, Australia — Like Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Jennifer Capriati and Lindsay Davenport before them, Venus and Serena Williams did their part to ensure a 34-year-record at the Australian Open remained intact.

The Williams sisters won their fourth-round matches Monday, extending a mark in which an American woman has been in the quarterfinals every year since 1977.

Venus Williams beat Francesca Schiavone 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 and Serena defeated Sam Stosur of Australia 6-4, 6-2 in just over an hour.

Navratilova, born in Czechoslovakia but who became an American citizen in 1981 — the same year she won her first Australian title — won here three times. Evert and Capriati captured it twice each and Davenport and Barbara Jordan once.

Monica Seles won the Australian Open four times, but only once as an American citizen — in 1996 — after she changed her citizenship officially from Yugoslavian.

Serena Williams has most recently had four wins at Melbourne Park, while Venus lost to Serena in the 2003 final.

Serena broke Stosur in the opening game of the second set Monday. The American faced two break points in her next service game, but fought back to deuce with an ace and a service winner, then served another ace on game point.

Stosur, who beat Serena the last time the pair met in California last year, set up break point in the seventh game with a double fault, then Serena hit a forehand winner to go up 5-2. Serena then held serve in the next game to take the match.

“I can’t believe it, Sam beat me last time pretty convincingly, so I knew I had to do real good today,” Serena said. “I think my serve was pretty good.”

Serena could add to her total, and Venus could win the Australian Open for the first time, but they can’t meet in the final. They’re in the same half of the draw and will meet in the semifinals if they win their next matches.

“I think it’s challenging because we’re both so good,” Venus said of the Williams family matchups.

“We both want to win. It’s just difficult I think for us to play against each other because I think we have so much respect for each other’s game.”

Venus, who has won seven singles majors, struggled to hold serve in the first set against Schiavone but was in command by the end, when she won the last six games after the 29-year-old Italian broke her to open the third set.

“Francesca was playing so well, she was so tenacious, she has so much speed,” Venus said. “I had a little bit of a slow start.”

Venus advanced to the Melbourne Park quarterfinals for the seventh time to set up a meeting with Li Na, who helped make Chinese history. For the first time at a major, there’s two Chinese players in the quarterfinals.

Li, who upset No. 4-seeded Caroline Wozniacki 6-4, 6-3, joins Zheng Jie, the 2008 Wimbledon semifinalist, in the last eight.

“Nothing better,” Li said, smiling, “Yeah, I mean good for us.”

Roger Federer played Monday night against Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt on Rod Laver Arena in a fourth-round match. Federer has reached the semifinals or better here every year since winning the 2004 title.

In other matches, 2008 champion Novak Djokovic beat Poland’s Lukasz Kubot 6-1, 6-2, 7-5 and No. 6 Nikolay Davydenko held off 2009 semifinalist Fernando Verdasco 6-2, 7-5, 4-6, 6-7 (5), 6-3 to extend his winning streak to 13.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France, who lost to Djokovic in the 2008 final, beat Nicolas Almagro of Spain 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 6-7 (6), 9-7. Djokovic will play Tsonga in the quarterfinals and Davydenko will meet the winner of the Hewitt-Federer match.

Djokovic said he’s playing well despite having a dry run at Grand Slam tournaments since his Melbourne Park victory.

“They are two different persons, physically I’m much stronger and able to get through the tough matches,” the Serbian player said. “The 2008 Australian Open is by far the best tournament I ever played … I believe I can play the same tournament this year.”

Davydenko was only two points from finishing off Verdasco in four sets but the Spaniard rallied to win the last four points of the tiebreaker and force a fifth set.

Davydenko has beaten both No. 1 Federer and No. 2 Nadal in runs to his last two titles.

“I just read last year I am ice man, now I am very hot,” the 28-year-old Davydenko, who has never reached the final of a major, said of his recent surge.

Nadal takes on Andy Murray and Andy Roddick plays Marin Cilin in quarterfinals on Tuesday. Comeback player Justine Henin takes on Nadia Petrova and Maria Kirilenko plays Zheng in women’s quarterfinals.