Serena squashes Henin to reach Miami semis

By Sandra Harwitt

MIAMI, Florida (Reuters) - Serena Williams made world number one Justine Henin look a novice as she pulled off a 6-2 6-0 victory to reach the semi-finals of the Sony Ericsson Open on Tuesday.

Williams barely put a foot wrong as she continued the defense of her crown and reeled off the last nine games for victory.

Enjoying a great level of fitness here, Serena joked about the last time she had been in such good shape.

"(Not) since 1982," the American, who was born in 1981, laughed. "I'm definitely way more fit than last year even at this tournament. I feel I'm moving better."

Hopes of a sister-act semi-final were dashed by Svetlana Kuznetsova when the world number four sent Venus Williams packing 6-4 6-4 in the other quarter-final.

"It's tennis, so anything could (have) happened," Kuznetsova said of her match. "She was No. 1. She won Olympics. (She has) so many titles. She can play amazing some days, and today I think I played better."

Venus was disappointed in defeat but took solace from Serena's victory.

"I'm always happy for Serena to win," she told reporters. "It would have been obviously very exciting for me to win, too, but just didn't happen.

PLAY TO WIN

"When I play tournaments I want to win the tournaments, so it's not about who I get to play."

The other two women's quarter-finals -- world number three Jelena Jankovic against world number 11 Elena Dementieva and world number 13 Dinara Safina facing world number 20 Vera Zvonareva -- will be played on Wednesday.

Henin struggled with her second serve throughout the 79-minute contest and surrendered the match with a double fault.

"She just has been better every part of the game and I didn't do enough to win and she has been consistent," said the Belgian.

"I didn't serve well enough, I didn't take my opportunities enough and I felt she was on every ball."

Tuesday's victory allowed Serena to avenge her three grand slam defeats by Henin last year.