Serena sets up grudge re-match with Henin

PARIS, June 3 (Reuters) Justine Henin and Serena Williams lined-up a grudge re-match at the French Open after they hurtled into the quarter-finals today.

Four years after Williams was booed off court following an acrimonious semi-final showdown with the Belgian, the duo will face each other across the net at Roland Garros for the first time since that day.

Australian Open champion Williams was the first to book her place in the last eight, darting past Russian Dinara Safina 6-2 6-3.

Three hours later, Henin ousted Austrian Sybille Bammer in a ruthless 6-2 6-4 exhibition.

Roger Federer's charge towards an elusive French Open title gathered momentum as he silenced roaring Russian Mikhail Youzhny 7-6 6-4 6-4. Next up for the world number one will be ninth seed Tommy Robredo.

The Swiss maestro, who is bidding to become only the third man to win all four majors in a row, has now won a record-equalling 35 successive sets at grand slams dating back to his triumph at the 2006 US Open.

''I'm focused on Roland Garros and I want to win my matches.

If I can win in three sets so much the better but I'm not looking for these types of records,'' was Federer's verdict on drawing level with a feat achieved by John McEnroe in 1984.

For once Federer's majestic performance was not the talking point amongst Parisians.

It was the forthcoming showdown between Henin and Williams that had tongues wagging.

EMOTIONAL WRECK Williams was left an emotional wreck after her reign as champion was ended in 2003 by Henin and she went on to accuse the Belgian of ''lying and fabricating'' following a controversial point in the match.

Despite the passage of time, some things can never be forgotten.

''I wasn't at fault in any way and I guess she was doing everything to win. Who knows? I don't know,'' said eighth seed Williams.

With their roles now reversed, Williams is intent on loosening Henin's two-year hold on the trophy.

''She's played great tennis. At this point, I don't have anything to lose. I can only propel myself forward and that's how I look at every match, including her,'' she said.

Youzhny also knew he had nothing to lose when he stepped on to Centre Court with a 0-9 record against Federer.

For 10 minutes, the Russian might have started daydreaming about pulling off the impossible as he sneaked into a 2-0 lead and extended it to 3-1.

But Federer quickly brought Youzhny back down to earth to make it 3-3 and made sure the Russian's feet never left the ground again.

Last year's runner-up Svetlana Kuznetsova foiled Shahar Peer's bid to become the first Israeli woman to reach the Paris quarter-finals with a brisk 6-4 6-3 victory. The Russian third seed booked a date with rising Serb Ana Ivanovic.

REUTERS BJR PM2045