Nadal ousted by Ferrer, Henin dumps Serena

NEW YORK – Second seed Rafael Nadal wilted under the strain of a fearless forehand by David Ferrer and top seed Justine Henin maintained her recent grand slam mastery over Serena Williams in a wild Tuesday at the US Open.

Ferrer blasted 48 winners to shock his Spanish compatriot 6-7 6-4 7-6 6-2 in a three-hour, 28-minute fourth-round match on Arthur Ashe Stadium that ended at 1:50 a.m. on Wednesday.Henin, who knocked out Serena at both Wimbledon and the French Open, outslugged her opponent 7-6 6-1 to reach to the semi-finals against either Venus Williams or Jelena Jankovic.”He’s (Ferrer’s) having an unbelievable season,” Nadal told reporters.”He’s one of the best players of the world right now.He’s a very tough player, very fast.For me, it’s not a surprise.”The 25-year-old Ferrer, who had lost his last four matches against Nadal, clinched victory when the world number two hit a backhand lob beyond the baseline.Nadal, a three-times French Open winner, who has been hampered by a left knee injury, had no answer for the heavy forehand from Ferrer.”I played very, very well,” the 15th-ranked Ferrer said.”Maybe I was lucky because Rafa was with physical problems.But I did my game.I played point-to-point.”I’m very happy because I am playing very well in this tournament and all year.”Elsewhere 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, who will face Ferrer in the quarter-finals.GREAT ATMOSPHERE World number one 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,” Henin said.”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 a hard court and levelled her career record against the double US Open champion at 6-6.Williams committed 28 unforced errors 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.”ONLY FOUR HOURS Djokovic, 20, needed just under four hours to subdue Monaco, a 23-year-old who had never won a match at Flushing Meadows before this year.”He made my points and games very, very difficult,” Djokovic said.”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, survived a courageous challenge from 19-year-old Latvian Ernests Gulbis to win 7-5 6-2 6-7 6-4, while Chela outlasted Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka 4-6 6-2 7-6 1-6 6-4 to reach his first Open quarter-final.Nampa-Reuterson Wednesday.Henin, who knocked out Serena at both Wimbledon and the French Open, outslugged her opponent 7-6 6-1 to reach to the semi-finals against either Venus Williams or Jelena Jankovic.”He’s (Ferrer’s) having an unbelievable season,” Nadal told reporters.”He’s one of the best players of the world right now.He’s a very tough player, very fast.For me, it’s not a surprise.”The 25-year-old Ferrer, who had lost his last four matches against Nadal, clinched victory when the world number two hit a backhand lob beyond the baseline.Nadal, a three-times French Open winner, who has been hampered by a left knee injury, had no answer for the heavy forehand from Ferrer.”I played very, very well,” the 15th-ranked Ferrer said.”Maybe I was lucky because Rafa was with physical problems.But I did my game.I played point-to-point.”I’m very happy because I am playing very well in this tournament and all year.”Elsewhere 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, who will face Ferrer in the quarter-finals.GREAT ATMOSPHERE World number one 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,” Henin said.”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 a hard court and levelled her career record against the double US Open champion at 6-6.Williams committed 28 unforced errors 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.”ONLY FOUR HOURS Djokovic, 20, needed just under four hours to subdue Monaco, a 23-year-old who had never won a match at Flushing Meadows before this year.”He made my points and games very, very difficult,” Djokovic said.”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, survived a courageous challenge from 19-year-old Latvian Ernests Gulbis to win 7-5 6-2 6-7 6-4, while Chela outlasted Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka 4-6 6-2 7-6 1-6 6-4 to reach his first Open quarter-final.Nampa-Reuters