Paris: Jennifer Capriati knocked Serena Williams out of the French Open in the quarter-finals today (June 1, 2004, as Venus Williams followed her sister out the exit door of Roland Garros after a straight sets defeat to Russian Anastasia Myskina.

In a battle of former champions, Capriati, the seventh seed and champion here in 2001, held off a fightback by the 2002 titleholder to win through 6-3 2-6 6-3 after 1hr 40 min in a match which was twice interrupted by rain.

And minutes later, sixth seed Myskina beat fourth-seeded Venus 6-3 6-4 to reach the French Open semi-finals to keep alive her country's hopes of putting an end to their long wait for a champion in Paris.