MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) Venus Williams followed her sister Serena out of the Australian Open in the quarterfinals, both losses at the hands of Serbian players.

Venus went down 7-6 (3), 6-4 to fourth-seeded Ana Ivanovic on Wednesday, a day after defending champion Serena lost to No. 3 Jelena Jankovic.

Ivanovic, who had never previously taken a set off Williams, 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 Jankovic will meet No. 5 Maria Sharapova, who ended top-ranked Justine Henin's 32-match winning streak 6-4, 6-0.

After four straight losses to Venus Williams, including the semifinals at Wimbledon and the fourth round at the U.S. Open, the 20-year-old Ivanovic was ecstatic about her latest win in Melbourne.

"It was an amazing match and I'm just thrilled to get through," the French Open finalist said. "In the last 18 months I've come a long way.

"She's an amazing competitor and she was playing very well today."

A third Serbian player has a chance of making the semis at Melbourne Park, with men's No. 3 Novak Djokovic playing David Ferrer of Spain later Wednesday.

Defending champion Roger Federer goes against No. 12 James Blake in the night match, aiming to add another major title to move within one of Pete Sampras' record 14 Grand Slams.

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.

"And I think Serena and I, we don't have anything to prove. We get out there and we play our best ... I don't get too caught up in what the next person thinks."

Neither Ivanovic nor Williams showed any respect for the other's serve, with six consecutive breaks in the first set.

Shaking her head and sighing, Williams had 21 unforced errors in the first set to just seven winners as she sprayed the ball all over the court.

She won just one of her five service points in the tiebreaker, covering her face with her hand after netting a straightforward backhand volley to give Ivanovic a 5-2 edge.

Then, after swatting away flies three times as she prepared to serve, Williams hit a swinging backhand volley into the net on set point.

Williams, her left thigh heavily wrapped almost to her knee, picked up her game dramatically to start the second set, jumping out to a 3-0 lead. She was really pounding the ball, her grunts of exertion sounding nearly like screams.

But it didn't last as Ivanovic broke back to get on serve. Then, after Williams fended off a break point to take a 4-3 edge, Ivanovic ran off the last three games, rallying from 15-40 as she served for the match.

Hantuchova had not been to the second week of a Grand Slam tournament since her quarterfinal exits at three consecutive majors, ending with a loss to Venus Williams in the Australian Open in 2003.

"It feels great. I kept fighting for every point, even in matches I wasn't playing very well," she said. "I kept believing I could do it, and here I am."

Serena Williams slumped 6-3, 6-4 on Tuesday to Jankovic, who reached the semifinals at Melbourne Park for the first time and only the third time in a major.

Serena was unseeded and ranked No. 81 when she made her stunning run to a third Australian and eighth Grand Slam title here 12 months ago, punctuating that with an emphatic 6-1, 6-2 win over Sharapova.

Sharapova wants to make amends this year.

"Even though I beat Justine, it's definitely not over," she said. "I still have a lot of business to take care of."

Sharapova, who struggled with a shoulder problem for most of last year, lost the season-ending championships final in three sets to Henin in 3 hours, 24 minutes - among the dozen longest women's tour matches in the Open era.

She turned the tables in only 1:38 on Tuesday, inflicting the first 6-0 set on Henin since 2002.

"I really felt like I was in a bubble," No. 5 Sharapova said. "I think it was one of the most consistent matches where I did all the things I wanted to do, and I did them correctly from the beginning to the end."

Henin, who struggled with her serve and was broken five times by Sharapova, said she had a minor concern over a lingering knee injury but put the end of her winning streak down as an inevitability.

"It's very hard to be at your best level all the time," she said. "I'll have to think about that and build again for the future."

Sharapova will be looking back for lessons to take into the semis against Jankovic, her old tennis academy pal.

"Ever since the juniors we've always played really tough and we've always battled it out, and it's great to see her in the semis," Sharapova said. "It's great we're playing together."

Jankovic has been hampered by a thigh problem since helping Serbia to the Hopman Cup final, where it lost to the Serena Williams-led United States.

She needed treatment during her first-round win here, when she had to save three match points, and again against Williams.

"I'm like a wounded animal. I still keep going," she said, adding for emphasis that she had a point to prove following a fourth-round loss to Williams here last year.

"Getting revenge, it feels so good," Jankovic said.

No. 2 Rafael Nadal, the only player to beat Federer at the last 10 Grand Slams, advanced to his first Australian Open semifinal with a 7-5, 6-3, 6-1 win over No. 24 Jarkko Nieminen of Finland.

He will play unseeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who beat No. 14 Mikhail Youzhny 7-5, 6-0, 7-6 (6).