Venus, Serena advance

PARIS -- Venus Williams' body language worried her mother. At least twice, Williams swatted awkwardly at a ball, winced, then grabbed her stomach.

Perhaps there was nothing significant -- and Williams laughed off a question after her victory -- but it was reasonable to wonder, what with so many injuries at the top of women's tennis over the past year, and at the French Open on Sunday alone.

Jennifer Capriati strained her right thigh, though that didn't stop her from setting up a quarterfinal showdown against Serena Williams. Lindsay Davenport's right knee injury did contribute to her loss to Elena Dementieva, one of three Russians in the final eight.

Venus, meanwhile, suddenly found herself in a second-set struggle before getting past 23rd-seeded Fabiola Zuluaga of Colombia 6-1, 7-6 (3). That put Venus in the quarterfinals, a round better than she fared at Roland Garros in 2003, when she was hampered by a torn abdominal muscle.

Venus couldn't play in the German Open final May 9 after twisting her left ankle in the semifinals, but any questions about how she'd hold up in Paris should have been answered by now. She has yet to drop a set while running her winning streak on clay to 19 matches, and said Sunday she feels as if she's in "definitely a lot better form than I was last year."

Serena, who could meet her sibling in the semifinals, said: "I'm pretty good at judging her form. ... She's dominating me right now in practice."

Serena compiled a 24-3 edge in winners against Shinobu Asagoe of Japan during a 6-3, 6-1 victory. That puts her against Capriati, a 7-5, 6-1 winner over No. 17 Francesca Schiavone.

Capriati, who beat Serena at this month's Italian Open to end an eight-match losing streak to her, thinks she'll be OK for Tuesday's big match.

Dementieva was joined in the quarterfinals by countrywomen No. 6 Anastasia Myskina (who meets Venus) and No. 18 Maria Sharapova.

"Nothing is out of reach," said Sharapova, 17. "Every tournament I come into, I want to win it, and I know that I can."

Tim Henman finds himself in the quarterfinals after beating French wild-card entry Michael Llodra 6-7 (2), 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 9-7.

He'll play No. 22 Juan Ignacio Chela on Tuesday, while No. 3 Guillermo Coria and No. 5 Carlos Moya will meet in another quarterfinal.