PETE SAMPRAS and Goran Ivanisevic were both in explosive form in New York last night as they reached the fourth round of the US Tennis Open. Defending champion Sampras smashed 18 aces in his 6-3 6-4 6-2 victory over Alexander Volkov, setting up a third Grand Slam encounter this year with Mark Philippousis, a comfortable 6-3 6-2 6-4 winner against number six seed Cedric Pioline.
"It's the best match I've played so far," said Sampras, who scuffled through a five-set win against 47th-ranked Jiri Novak on Friday. "I felt real fresh today."
But Sampras admits that anything could when he takes on the 19-year-old Philippoussis.
"It's dangerous," said Sampras, who lost to the Australian in the third round of the Australian Open and then beat him in the second round at Wimbledon."
Advancing in a more sedate style was Stefan Edberg, who put off his yet again with a 6-4 7-6 6-1 victory over Dutchman Paul Haarhuis.
Fourth-seeded Conchita Martinez of Spain became the first woman to reach the quarter-finals. Martinez, the 1994 Wimbledon champion, defeated unseeded Asa Carlsson 6-2 6-1 to continue her charge through the draw.
Monica Seles joined her in the last eight after surviving a first-set scare. Seles battled back after trailing 5-3 in the first set to beat France's Sandrine Testud 7-5 6-0.
