Henin, Murray keep Open dreams alive

Justine Henin performed a great escape act Friday to keep her Australian Open dream alive as she joined Dinara Safina, Andy Murray and Juan Martin del Potro in the last 16.

American seventh seed Andy Roddick also made the fourth round, but Jelena Jankovic's tournament is over, with the eighth seed a shadow of her former self in a 6-2, 6-3 defeat to 31st seed Alona Bondarenko.

Men's 12th seed Gael Monfils was another casualty as the Frenchman succumbed 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/5) to American 33rd seed John Isner.

The diminutive Henin, the 2004 champion at Melbourne Park, was also staring at defeat after losing the opening set and falling 3-1 behind in the second to big-serving Russian 27th seed Alisa Kleybanova.

But she drew on all her experience as a seven-time Grand Slam champion to claw back, taking the second set and rattling through the third for a 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory in a gripping two hour 20 minute contest.

Following her ousting of fifth seed Elena Dementieva in the previous round, Henin's battling win proved once again she is still a threat despite playing in only her second tournament on her comeback from an 18-month retirement.

"I kind of survived a little bit today," she said.

"It was so difficult for me after the last match. Physically, I suffered a little bit in the last two days.

"I'm very happy that I'm still in the tournament."

She will next play fellow Belgian Yanina Wickmayer, who beat Italy's Sara Errani 6-1, 6-7 (4/7), 6-3.

Safina, the second seed, clocked a rapid-fire 57 minute 6-1, 6-2 thrashing of England's Elena Baltacha in her first match on Rod Laver Arena since she imploded during last year's final against Serena Williams.

The Russian took heart from a winning return at the scene of one of her worst days in tennis.

"I didn't have good memories of the last match I played on Rod Laver Arena, for sure," said the world number two. "I am glad to be back and I had to fight hard and make sure I won to forget the bad memories."

She will next face Maria Kirilenko after the fellow Russian outlasted Italy's Roberta Vinci 7-5, 7-6 (7/4).

While Safina and Henin powered on, Jankovic looked like a spent force as she was bundled in a miserable end to the tournament for a player ranked world number one this time last year.

She joins other high-profile casualties Maria Sharapova and Ana Ivanovic.

The Serb struggled to live up to her potential in 2009 and her big-match credentials were again found wanting, but Jankovic wasn't overly concerned.

"It's no big deal, it's only my second tournament of the year," she said.

"I just have to stay positive, keep my head up high. I know what I have to work on. I feel like my game is improving and I feel like I really can raise my level and be up there."

On the men's side, Scotland's Murray maintained his flawless form by advancing with a 7-5, 6-1, 6-4 win over Frenchman Florent Serra.

The 22-year-old, who next plays Isner, equalled his best performance here. He has not dropped a set in three matches as he takes aim at a maiden Grand Slam title.

"I'm happy to have won in three sets in all of the matches," he said.

"I'm happy to save as much energy as possible. Today was hot, so it was nice to get off the court quickly."

Roddick ground out a 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) win over tenacious Spaniard Feliciano Lopez.

It sets up the American seventh seed, a four-time semi-finalist here, with a fourth round clash against Chilean 11th seed Fernando Gonzalez, who dug deep to win a five-setter against Kazak Evgeny Korolev 6-7 (5/7), 6-3, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Del Potro fired past German Florian Mayer 6-3, 0-6, 6-4, 7-5.