American Lindsay Davenport put Anna Kournikova out of the Sydney International tournament yesterday in a gruelling rain-delayed match that proved too much for the Russian teenager. Kournikova (16), fought hard in the second set but lost form amid constant interruptions as the hot and humid conditions turned to drizzle and the game dragged out over six hours.

The bored crowd was clearly on the teenager's side, in scenes Davenport said were reminiscent of Gabriela Sabatini's heyday. "It's like when we used to play Gabi. The crowd was always for Gabi, wherever you were," she said, adding that she was pleased to be out of the limelight.

Kournikova rated yesterday's conditions as the worst she had experienced. "She definitely has more experience in these sorts of matches," she said of Davenport.

Although experience won out yesterday, Davenport said the new vanguard of teen stars who have shone here this week could not be taken lightly.

"There's a lot more depth in women's tennis. Besides the new faces like the Williams sisters and Kournikova, some of the old players are playing well again too."

Davenport goes on to play Serena Williams, who made the quarter-finals after France's Sandrine Testud withdrew with tendonitis.

Williams, another 16 year-old, said her game was improving but still showed some inconsistencies. "I wasn't playing my best today. It was hot and I was tired," she said.

Serena and her older sister Venus 17), had a thrilling day on here Tuesday with identical scorecard victories that saw the elder Williams topple world number one Martina Hingis. The ambitious pair said this week they plan to sit atop the tennis world at number one and two seeds.

In other play, Australia's teenage sensation Lleyton Hewitt who defeated second seed Jonas Bjorkmann on Tuesday, was downed by compatriot Michael Tebbutt.

Spanish seventh seed Albert Costa scored a comeback win over Germany's Hendrik Dreekman to advance to the quarter-finals.

Costa looked set to become the sixth men's seed to bow out of the tournament after he lost the first set and trailed in the second, but he managed to get back in the game and win 3-6 6-4 6-3.

US Open champion Patrick Rafter of Australia and defending champion Tim Henman of Britain are the only other seeds left in the draw. Karol Kucera also advanced to the last eight yesterday when his German opponent Nicolas Kiefer retired with the flu with the Slovakian leading 5-2 in the first set.