Henin, Serena, Advance; Clijsters, Kuz Upset in Miami

Clijsters, the No.4 seed who was the 2005 champion here, fell to No.15-seeded Li Na for the first time in four meetings, 46 64 62. It was an emotional loss for the Belgian, who was playing the tournament for the last time, having already announced that she would be retiring from the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour circuit at the end of the 2007 season.

"A place like here or the US Open is one of the most fun places to play, because people are yelling, screaming and getting into matches, and that's something I like a lot," Clijsters said. "We play in places sometimes where it's dead quiet and it's hard to get into it. When the atmosphere is good, it makes more fun for us.

"The people in America show their emotion a lot; it's something I really like."

Clijsters, also a semifinalist at this stop in 2003, praised Li afterwards, touting the Chinese trailblazer as one of the future Top 10 stars of the women's game.

"I do believe that she's definitely a Top 10 player," the Belgian added. "It's just a matter for her to get through one of those big matches; then, the confidence will automatically rise and she'll be up there. She's definitely capable of doing that."

Li's victory over the world No.5 was her sixth over a Top 10 player and fourth this year; last year she notched wins over Patty Schnyder and Kuznetsova and thus far in 2007 she has topped Elena Dementieva, Dinara Safina and Jelena Jankovic.

"Before the match, my coach just told me 'Just play, don't think who she is and try your best," the 25-year-old said. "I had played her three times already and always lost. This morning I told my husband 'I want to win one time.'"

Clijsters is joined on the sidelines by No.3 seed and defending Miami champion Kuznetsova, who was ousted by No.14-seeded Shahar Peer, 64 46 63. Like Li, Peer has had several Top 10 wins recently, this one being her fourth ever; she beat Dementieva last year and Schnyder and Kuznetsova again earlier this year.

Awaiting Li in the quarterfinals will be No.9 seed Anna Chakvetadze, who beat No.32 seed Mara Santangelo, 61 75; Peer's quarterfinal test is No.24 seed Tathiana Garbin, who stopped unseeded teenager Agnieszka Radwanska, 64 62.

Also grabbing quarterfinal berths Monday were No.2 seed Justine Henin, who defeated No.18 seed Vera Zvonareva, 63 62; No.6 seed Nadia Petrova, who outlasted compatriot and No.10 seed Dinara Safina, 36 62 64; and No.8-seeded Czech teen Nicole Vaidisova, who beat Russian qualifier Vera Dushevina, 62 64.

Henin's win propelled her into the quarterfinals here for just the third time after previously going that far in 2003 and 2005.

"The conditions are pretty tough here, very windy; you never know where the wind is coming from, so you need to adjust your game all the time and it's not easy," Henin said. "But I felt better on the court. I had a chance to improve my level today, to raise my level and that's what I did. So I'm very happy with the way the match went. I'm very happy to win in two sets like that."

Serena wins rain-delayed third round match; sets up Sharapova clash

The only third round match from Sunday that was pushed to Monday's schedule because of rain took the court in the afternoon, and No.13 seed Serena Williams was in fine form, defeating No.23 seed Lucie Safarova, 63 64.

"I'm actually not happy with my performance. I didn't move too well, but I got through and I guess that was important," the American said. "I just need to work on a little bit of everything. I figure it'll come together. I never like to peak too soon in tournaments."

After the departures of Clijsters and Kuznetsova she is the only former champion in the draw at this point, and next faces top seed Maria Sharapova, a runner-up in the last two years here. They last met in the Australian Open final in January, with Williams in crushing form, winning 61 62; but she said this is a new match.

"This is a new week - a new tournament; she's not thinking about Australia, and I'm not, and we're just going forward with this match. It's gonna be a lot of fun. She's playing really well. She beat Venus, who I thought was the toughest player in the draw, so now I'm gonna go for her." (WTA)