NEW YORK -- In a match between the last two Wimbledon also-rans, David Nalbandian survived 34 aces by Mark Philippoussis in a 7-5, 6-7 (10), 6-3, 6-2 victory to reach the fourth round of the U.S. Open.
The difference was that Philippoussis' booming serve was accompanied by 74 unforced errors and seemed to wilt as the match stretched to 3 hours, 13 minutes.
Nalbandian said he was not intimidated by all those aces.
"I think the serve is his best shot so it is normal on the big points that he make some aces or some good serves," he said. "So I have to try to keep focus on my return and try to make more break points."
Nalbandian said he has been working on improving his fitness but he wasn't revealing details.
"Top secret," he explained.
GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN, PLEASE: Being a big-time tennis player doesn't leave a lot of time for homemaking skills. Lindsay Davenport, seeded No. 3 and in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open, confesses she is not a great cook.
"No," she said, "I don't cook at all. It's so heartbreaking."
So what happens at dinnertime for her and her new husband?
"We don't do any cooking," Davenport said. "We rope my mom in, giving her a sweet phone call. "Can you come over?'
"There's a lot of takeout in our relationship."
ANDRE THE ANOMALY: After all these years on the pro circuit and 11 previous matches, Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Andre Agassi know each other pretty well. Still, every so often, there are surprises.
After Agassi completed his rain-delayed, straight-sets victory over Kafelnikov on Sunday, the Russian marveled at his old rival.
"He always sticks to the same game plan he had since he was, I don't know, 20 years old, " Kafelnikov said. "He's trying to overpower the opponent from the baseline. The only difference I can see is that he's got physically stronger, which is completely absurd. Normally, if you are getting older, you are becoming physically weaker. With him, it's opposite."
TIEBREAKERS GALORE: Dutchman Sjeng Schalken, seeded 12th, had to play three tiebreakers to beat qualifier Ivo Karlovic on Sunday, winning 7-6 (8), 7-6 (5), 7-6 (3).
Schalken seems to fancy close sets -- he's played 187 of them in his career, winning 92. This year alone, Schalken is 11-5 in tiebreakers.
It was an impressive effort by Karlovic, a Croat ranked 109th in the world.
FIFTH-SET TIEBREAKERS: The U.S. Open is the only Grand Slam event to settle fifth sets with tiebreaks. Jiri Novak lost that way to Younes El Aynaoui but had no complaint with the system.
"We know from the beginning of the match there is a tiebreak in the fifth set," he said. "I think this is a good way to do it. I think that if you are playing almost four hours in the court you are just happy the match is finishing.
"Sometimes on the Wimbledon days, the match is let's say 20 to 18 in the fifth set. It's not really tennis. The players are almost dying on the court. It doesn't have nothing to do with the tennis already anymore."
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
= Sporting News Radio Pass