The Associated Press

Serena Williams puffs her cheeks during her 6-4, 6-1, victory over Eleni Daniilidou. (AP Photo/Rick Stevens) | ZOOM |

MELBOURNE, Australia - Once again, Serena Williams had a slow start but a strong finish, moving within three victories of capturing the Australian Open championship and a "Serena Slam."

Williams, who holds the most recent titles from the French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open, beat Eleni Daniilidou 6-4, 6-1 early today.

Her quarterfinal opponent will be fellow American Meghann Shaughnessy, who saved five break points in the final game to beat Elena Bovina 5-7, 6-2, 6-4.

"That's a great win for her," Williams said of Shaughnessy. "OK, that's two Americans in the quarterfinals, so one of us is guaranteed to get to the semis."

Williams played the last match on center court before organizers suspended play on the outside courts, citing high temperatures and humidity. They had the option of closing the roof over center court.

"It's hard to breathe," said Williams, who gulped for air on changeovers. "It's OK; I like the heat."

Also in the quarterfinals is Williams' sister, Venus, who lost to Serena in the final three Grand Slam events last year.

Shaughnessy, a 23-year-old American who's seeded 25th, reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam event for the first time by winning her 11th straight match. Before the Australian, she won a warmup tournament in Canberra.

Serving for the match against Bovina, a U.S. Open quarterfinalist last year, Shaughnessy saved break points with an error by the 19-year-old Russian, a service winner, an overhead smash, an inside-out forehand and an ace.

After another service winner, she finished the 2-hour, 19-minute match when the 20th-seeded Bovina netted a backhand serve return.

Shaughnessy's previous best major showing was fourth-round berths at the 2001 French Open and Wimbledon.

Meanwhile, Rainer Schuettler made the most of 2002 runner-up Marat Safin's withdrawal by reaching the final eight with a 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 victory over James Blake.

Schuettler gained a free pass into the fourth round when Safin withdrew with a wrist injury after falling in an earlier match.

Schuettler, a 26-year-old German who had never reached a Grand Slam quarterfinal before, rebounded from early service breaks by Blake in the first two sets.

In the final set, the two traded service breaks in the fourth and fifth games, and Schuettler gained the key break in the sixth when Blake double-faulted. Schuettler finished with a forehand down the line that Blake couldn't handle at the net.

The 23-year-old Blake, playing in a Grand Slam event's fourth round for the first time, had 35 errors, compared with 19 by Schuettler.

"When you're playing for something that's really important, the quarterfinal of a Grand Slam, it hurts," Blake said. "I learned something. You can't play the same tennis in the second week as you can in the first."

In other women's action, Justine Henin-Hardenne 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. Williams 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. Then she was down on the court, clutching her leg. Following her courtside treatment, Henin-Hardenne 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."

The contest fell eight games and 20 minutes short of the Australian Open 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 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.

Venus, seeded second, saved 11 break points in her victory over Pratt. She next plays No. 7 Daniela Hantuchova, who extended Venus to three sets at 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 Monday against No. 18 Eleni Daniilidou of Greece. She missed last year's Australian Open with a twisted ankle.

Among the men, three-time champion Andre Agassi advanced when Argentina's Guillermo Coria quit with foot problems while trailing 6-1, 3-1.

"I'll certainly be rested and ready to go," said Agassi, who won this tournament in 1995, 2000 and 2001 but skipped it last year because of an injury.

He will meet 2001 semifinalist Sebastien Grosjean, a 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 winner over Spain's Felix Mantilla. It was Mantilla's fourth consecutive five-set match.

At a glance

Men's singles

Round of 16

Rainer Schuettler (31) def. James Blake (23), 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.

Fourth round

Juan Carlos Ferrero (4) def. Mario Ancic, 6-0, 6-3, 6-2.

Wayne Ferreira def. Sargis Sargsian, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.

Andre Agassi (2) def. Guillermo Coria 6-1, 3-1, retired.

Sebastien Grosjean (12) def. Felix Mantilla, Spain, 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.

Women's singles

Round of 16

Meghann Shaughnessy (25) def. Elena Bovina, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4.

Serena Williams (1) def. Eleni Daniilidou (18), 6-4, 6-1.

Fourth round

Venus Williams (2) def. Nicole Pratt, 6-3, 6-2.

Daniela Hantuchova (7) def. Patty Schnyder (12) 7-5, 6-3.

Virginia Ruano Pascual def. Denisa Chladkova, 6-3, 6-3.

Justine Henin-Hardenne (5) def. Lindsay Davenport (9), 7-5, 5-7, 9-7.