Top seed Gustavo Kuerten survived a determined challenge from Max Mirnyi of Belarus to register a 6-7, 5-7, 7-6, 7-6, 6-2 third-round win at the US Open early this morning.
The world number one proved his mettle at the National Tennis Center by overcoming a two-set deficit against the serve-and-volley power of Mirnyi in a battle lasting three hours and 31 minutes.
"We both played a great match," said Kuerten. "One had to win, so I was lucky it was me today". Kuerten now advances to a fourth-round match against Spaniard Albert Costa, who upset 15th-seeded Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic of Croatia 6-4, 7-6, 7-6. The 24-year-old Mirnyi has shown flashes of brilliance this season with victories over reigning Open champion Marat Safin of Russia, his compatriot Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Kuerten on clay in Hamburg.
He applied relentless pressure on Kuerten, storming the net 209 times to claim 124 points during the tense match on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court.
"Well, there's a reason why he's number one," said Mirnyi. "He's won many matches of this type over the course of the last couple of years, therefore he's at the top of the game right now".