NEW YORK — Scrap that Venus vs. Serena matchup at the U.S. Open. Cancel that Rafa vs. Roger rematch, too.

The tournament took a sharp twist Tuesday night — and early today — when a pair of fan favorites at Flushing Meadows got chased.

First, it was Serena Williams. Top-seeded Justine Henin beat her for the third straight time in a Grand Slam quarterfinal, making it look easy at the end in a 7-6 (3), 6-1 victory.

"I got to go back and study and figure out how to beat her. That's it. Bottom line," Williams said.

Next up for Henin might be Serena's sister. Venus Williams plays No. 3 Jelena Jankovic in the quarters tonight, and the winner gets Henin in the semis.

Henin will have a rooting interest: She's 1-7 against Venus, 7-0 against Jankovic.

A lot of tennis fans were looking forward to seeing Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer meet in a third straight Grand Slam final. It won't happen now after 15th-seeded David Ferrer upset the second-seeded Nadal 6-7 (3), 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-2 in a fourth-round match that ended at 1:50 a.m.

"Sure there is disappointment for me, but that is tennis," Nadal said.

The lower deck at Arthur Ashe Stadium was mostly filled when Nadal's shot sailed long at 1:50 a.m. It came close to the latest ending at the U.S. Open — back in 1993, Mats Wilander finished off Mikael Pernfors at 2:26 a.m.