Rookie Korean faces Pistol Pete Kafelnikov, Henman upset

Dominik Hrbaty ousted Russian fifth seed Kafelnikov 6-4 7-6 (7/5) 6-1. Kafelnikov, 1-6 lifetime against the 36th-ranked Slovakian, joined top-seeded 1999 winner Andre Agassi and second seed Gustavo Kuerten on the sidelines.

Hard-serving Dutchman Richard Krajicek broke Britain’s Henman in the final games of the fourth and fifth sets to advance 6-4 3-6 4-6 7-5 7-5 in three hours and 24 minutes.

Krajicek served 25 aces to four for Henman, whose hit 17 double faults to just seven by the 1996 Wimbledon winner, who next plays Hrbaty.

Henman double faulted three times in the last game of the fourth set and twice in the final game of the fifth, including netting a second serve on match point to crash out after what he had called his best-ever US Open preparation.

Krajicek and Sampras are each one victory from a quarter-final match-up. The Dutchman owns a 6-3 career edge on Sampras and his 1996 quarter-final victory at Wimbledon is Sampras’ only loss since 1992 at the All-England Club where he has won seven of his 13 Slam titles.

Sampras, the only man left with more than one Slam crown, next faces South Korean qualifier Lee Hyung-Taik, a Slam debutante who beat Germany’s Rainer Schuttler 6-2 3-6 6-4 6-4 and extend his win streak to 11 matches.

“I’ve never heard of him. It’s always a little unsettling to have a match like that,” Sampras said. “He’s going to come out swinging away. I should be ready. I’ll just worry about my game and my serve, get off to a good start, put the pressure on him.”

Aussie ninth seed Lleyton Hewitt bounced Czech Jiri Novak 6-3 6-3 6-3 and Aussie 15th seed Mark Philippoussis fell 6-4 6-4 6-4 to US star Jan-Michael Gambill in a second-round match postponed from Friday due to rain.

“It was important to get off to a good start and I got on a good run,” Hewitt said. “I’m hitting the ball well enough to do well in the tournament.”

France’s Arnaud Clement, who ousted Agassi, and Romania’s Andrei Pavel both advanced when rivals retired. France’s Jerome Golmard bowed to Pavel with a second-set back injury.

Morocco’s Hicham Arazi pulled out in the fifth against Clement, who served 23 aces but admitted, “If it had gone another five minutes, I would have been the one to retire."

Defending women’s champion Serena Williams ousted Italy’s Giulia Casoni 6-4 6-2 to set a fourth-round date with 17-year-old Wimbledon semi-finalist Jelena Dokic of Australia, who got by Italy’s Francesca Sciavone 7-6 (7-4) 7-4.

Second-seeded Lindsay Davenport dispatched Thailand’s Tamarine Tanasugarn 6-2 6-1 and Mary Pierce, the fourth seed from France, beat American Lisa Raymond 6-4 7-6 (8-6).

Two women’s seeds were ousted. Russia’s Elena Dementieva eliminated No 7 Conchita Martinez 6-4 6-1 and 18-year-old Belgian Justine Henin ensured No 12 Anna Kournikova would not win her first title with a 6-4 7-6 (7/5) triumph. Martinez had five double faults and 36 unforced errors to ensure an unseeded quarter-finalist by sending Dementieva through. She next faces American Lilia Osterloh, who beat Japan’s Shinobu Asagoe 7-5 6-0.

Williams served 12 aces and allowed Casoni only one winner in each set to advance in 60 minutes. She appreciates how Dokic has handled the banishment of her father Damir from the Open and Wimbledon due to abusive behaviour.

“She’s a very strong person the way she deals with it,” Williams said. “She always supports her father. No matter what he does, she is always by his side. That’s really important. I appreciate that.”

Dokic, ranked 43rd, sees Serena and sister Venus, the Wimbledon champion, as the ones to beat for the title here.

“It would be big for anybody to beat Serena or Venus,” Dokic said. “I’m happy with how I did here no matter how the next match goes. You’ve just got to hope she makes a few errors. It’s important for me to stay in points and not make errors.”

Dokic is apparently doing just fine without any coaching help from her father. The burly ex-boxer all but admitted to a New York newspaper that drinking is the cause of his unruly behaviour which also led to incidents at the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year.

“If you touch me … Any time … I will not touch you,” said the bearded 40-year-old bad boy. “If I drink one or two wines and you touch … Who knows?”