Australia MELBOURNE: Tennis star Venus Williams followed her sister Serena out of the Australian Open in the quarterfinals in losses to Serbian players on back-to-back days.
Novak Djokovic beat No. 5 David Ferrer 6-0, 6-3, 7-5 on his fifth match point Wednesday, becoming the third Serb into the semifinals at Melbourne Park and repeating the country's performance from the last French Open.
Venus Williams went down 7-6 (3), 6-4 to No. 4-seeded Ana Ivanovic in the previous match, a day after defending champion Serena lost to No. 3 Jelena Jankovic.
Ivanovic, who had never t
aken a set off Williams in four previous contests, is into the semifinals for the third time at a Grand Slam and next faces first-timer Daniela Hantuchova, who beat Agnieszka Radwanska 6-2, 6-2.
In the other women's semifinal Thursday, Jankovic will meet No. 5 Maria Sharapova, who ended top-ranked Justine Henin's 32-match winning streak 6-4, 6-0 on Tuesday.
After four straight losses to Williams, including the semifinals at Wimbledon and the fourth round at the U.S. Open, 20-year-old Ivanovic was thrilled to win.
"It was an amazing match and I'm just thrilled to get through," Ivanovic said. "In the last 18 months I've come a long way.
"She's an amazing competitor and she was playing very well today."
Djokovic faces the winner of Wednesday's later quarterfinal between defending champion Roger Federer and No. 12 James Blake.
He lost the U.S. Open final to Federer, who is bidding for a third consecutive Australian title and 13th major _ one shy of Pete Sampras' record 14.
The Williams sisters have 14 singles majors between them, but the hold that they once had on women's tennis is declining.
"There's been a lot of talk every single year," Venus Williams said in response, again, to the question. "I think what's important to me is what goes on in my head. I've been a champion. I have full expectations and aspirations to continue to play high-quality tennis and to continue to be a champion.
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