Hewitt, Hingis survive in tough conditions

It was survival of the fittest for Lleyton Hewitt and Martina Hingis on a day of high drama and even higher humidity at the U.S. Open on Friday.

Women's top seed Hingis and men's fourth seed Hewitt were under siege and in danger of being run out of the tournament when their gutsy opponents succumbed as much to the stifling conditions as to the firepower of their opponents.

"Grand Slams are about five sets. It's about lasting four and a half, five hours for seven matches," said Australian Hewitt, who outlasted James Blake 6-4 3-6 2-6 6-3 6-0 in a second round clash in which the American was clearly in distress from heat exhaustion.

Hingis fought off the valiant efforts of one-time nemesis Iva Majoli to move into the fourth round, clawing her way back from 2-4 in the third set tie-break to advance 4-6 6-4 7-6 (7-5).

The Croatian recovered from two breaks down in the third set, breaking Hingis twice when the top seed was serving for the match. But the heat and humidity finally got to Majoli in the tie-break.

"I knew she was a little injured and...I could see she was very tired, exhausted at the end," said Hingis.

Majoli, who denied Hingis a Grand Slam sweep in 1997 by beating the Swiss player in the French Open final, confirmed the world number one's suspicions.

"At 4-2, I really felt like I was going to throw up. It was very hot and very humid today. For the next two or three points I was just rushing because I wasn't there really. I was really exhausted."

BLAKE ILL

Blake actually did throw up during an injury timeout at 2-3 in the fourth set.

He had played what he considered to be the two best sets of his life to put Hewitt in a hole.

But Blake, overcome by the conditions, staggered through most of the rest of the match with the rousing support of the crowd and his own pride propping him up until the bitter end.

Hewitt, in contrast, did his usual fist pumping routine, running off the court at changeovers as Blake shuffled around like a punch drunk fighter.

"I'm about as proud as I can be. I did the best I can," said Blake, who apologised to Hewitt for not being able to put up a better fight at the end.

But it was Hewitt who owed the apology for an apparent racist remark that he emphatically denied in a post-match interview.

Enraged over a second foot-fault call by a line judge who was African American, as is Blake, Hewitt stormed over to the chair umpire and demanded the official be removed, saying: "Look at him mate and tell me what the similarity is.

"There was nothing racial said out there at all," Hewitt insisted repeatedly. "If people took it in the wrong way, then I apologise because it wasn't meant to be in that way."

Men's top seed and French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten avoided any such unpleasantness or drama with a 6-3 6-4 6-4 victory over Kristian Pless of Denmark in just 89 minutes.

Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic and fifth-seeded Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero were also straight sets winners.

KAFELNIKOV RALLY

But seventh-seeded Russian Yevgeny Kafelnikov had to battle back from two sets down to pull out a 2-6 5-7 6-1 6-4 6-3 victory over Swiss George Bastl.

"I just proved another time to myself, no matter how big a hole you're in, you still have a small chance to come out of there," the Olympic champion said after scrambling into the third round.

Crowd favourite Todd Martin was unable to climb out of a hole and was picked off by Spaniard Tommy Robredo 6-3 7-5 3-6 6-3. Martin's defeat means there is no-one in the top half of the draw who has ever reached the U.S. Open final.

American 12th seed Meghann Shaughnessy, who progressed to the fourth round at Wimbledon and the French Open, became the highest women's seed to fall when she was ousted by Czech Daja Bedanova 6-4 6-1 in the third round.

Fourteenth seed Jelena Dokic of Yugoslavia beat 1994 champion Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario 6-4 7-5 in the tournament's first meeting of seeded players to earn a fourth-round clash with Hingis. Sanchez-Vicario was seeded 20th under the new expanded 32-seed format.

Twice former champion Monica Seles, Wimbledon runner-up Justine Henin and 1999 champion Serena Williams also claimed berths in the round of 16.

Williams posted the day's most emphatic win, a 6-1 6-0 demolition of Slovak Martina Sucha, to set up a showdown with Henin, who lost the Wimbledon final to Venus Williams.

"I'm definitely almost in the form that I want to be," said 10th seed Serena, who plans to consult Venus on how to deal with the Belgian player.

"We're going to have a lot of discussion on what I need to do," she said.