Melbourne, Australia — Defending champion Jennifer Capriati fought her way into the Australian Open quarterfinals Monday, beating determined Rita Grande 6-3, 7-6 (9).
The match ended with a double fault, the 10th point against service in the final 11 in the tiebreaker. At 9-9, the players were so caught up with the match that they forgot to change ends.
Capriati will face seventh-seeded Amelie Mauresmo in the quarterfinals. Mauresmo struggled to beat Marlene Weingartner 6-0, 4-6, 7-5.
Sixth-seeded Justine Henin, the Wimbledon runner-up, advanced to a possible quarterfinal meeting with Belgian compatriot Kim Clijsters, the French Open runner-up and No. 4 seed. Henin beat No. 12 Elena Dementieva 6-0, 6-3.
Henin's and Mauresmo's matches were delayed by rain in the second sets before the roofs on the two main stadiums were closed.
In men's matches, 1998 runner-up Marcelo Rios beat 23rd-seeded Nicolas Lapentti 7-5, 6-1, 6-4.
The 19-year-old Henin whipped backhands that kept Dementieva on the run, and set up frequent chances to put away shots from the net.
Dementieva, a U.S. Open semifinalist in 2000, was forced into frequent errors.
"I'm happy," Henin said. "I was a little bit afraid of this match. She's a young and tough player. ... I went to the net. I was really aggressive. I'm in good form for sure."
Henin will face the winner of a match between Clijsters and unseeded Janette Husarova.
Venus Williams, trying to win her third straight Grand Slam event and fifth overall, reached the quarterfinals with a 6-0, 6-3 victory over 13th-seeded Magdalena Maleeva. Williams will face four-time Australian Open champion Monica Seles.
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