Melbourne: Europe tightened its stranglehold on this year's Australian Open when America's sole survivor in the women's singles, Venus Williams, was blasted out of the quarter-finals on Wednesday.
Venus went the way of sister Serena, battered by a Serb baseliner, losing 7-6, 6-4 to fourth seed Ana Ivanovic.
"She played well and hit a lot of good shots... so I give her a lot of credit," the Wimbledon champion said.
"I have nobody to blame but myself." Ivanovic will meet Daniela Hantuchova in the semis after the Slovak pummelled Pole Agnieszka Radwanska 6-2, 6-2.
Men's third seed Novak Djokovic is looking to make it a super Wednesday for Serbia when he meets Spain's David Ferrer for a spot in the last four.
In Wednesday night's session, America's remaining man, James Blake, fights for his life against top seed and world No.1 Roger Federer of Switzerland.
Venus had been looking to avenge Serena's quarter-final loss to Serb Jelena Jankovic, but the result was the same as she floundered on a sun-drenched centre court.
The American simply committed too many errors and allowed her 20-year-old opponent to dominate from the baseline.
Grabbed opportunity
Ivanovic grabbed her opportunity with both hands.
"It's amazing, it was an amazing match and I'm just so thrilled to be through," Ivanovic beamed in a courtside interview.
"We had a lot of really long points and (Venus) is an amazing competitor."
Venus and Ivanovic took to court after a double-quick opening match between Hantuchova and Radwanska.
Hantuchova, a former quarter-finalist at Wimbledon, the US Open and Melbourne Park, made the final four of a grand slam for the first time with a 6-2, 6-2 victory.
"I think I realised that it's okay to make mistakes and it's okay to not always play my best tennis," the 24-year-old said.
"I always wanted to have everything perfect. Yeah, I just realised that things are not always going to go your way, and sometimes you have to work for them."
Things certainly went her way against Radwanska. Hantuchova used her experience to run the 18-year-old around the court, forcing her deep behind the baseline.
"I felt like I had a great opportunity to win this match, but I still had to go out there and play my best, which I think I did at times," Hantuchova said.
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