Edberg keeps hanging in at U.S. Open

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But in early play today, two-time former champion Stefan Edberg grabbed the headlines by extending the 54th and final Grand Slam tournament of his illustrious career. He beat Paul Haarhuis of the Netherlands 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), 6-1.

Edberg, who also has won two Australian Open and two Wimbledon titles, has announced his retirement, effective at the end of the year.

Edberg rallied from a break down in the second set to force a tiebreak and rallied again from 1-3 down in the tiebreak to win it. Edberg then cruised through the third set and earned a standing ovation from the stadium crowd at the National Tennis Center.

Sampras was extended to the limit by unheralded Jiri Novak of the Czech Republic Friday before pulling out the match. Sampras' usually dependable ground strokes deserted him and he had to overcome more than 60 unforced errors to oust Novak, who is ranked 47th in the world.

The 29-year-old Volkov, who is ranked 78th, also had to go five sets, including a tiebreak in the fifth, to fight off Mikael Tillstrom of Sweden in the second round.

Sampras is seeking his fourth U.S. Open title. Sampras, who has won at least two Grand Slam tournaments in each of the past three years, is looking to avoid being shut out this year.

Sampras is 8-2 lifetime against Volkov, including victories in the 1992 quarterfinals and the 1993 semifinals at the U.S. Open. Sampras has dominated left-handers such as Volkov. He is 115-31 lifetime against lefties, including a 7-0 record at the U.S. Open.

In other early third-round action today, fourth seed Goran Ivanisevic beat Hendrik Dreekman of Germany 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (13-11); Guy Forget of France defeated Sjeng Schalken of the Netherlands 6-2, 7-5, 4-6, 4-6, 6-0; and No. 16 Cedric Pioline of France was set to play hard-serving Mark Philippoussis of Australia.

No. 12 Todd Martin of the United States plays Tim Henman of Britain tonight in a rematch of their Wimbledon quarterfinal, won by Martin in straight sets. Henman is seeking to become the first British player to reach the fourth round of the U.S. Open since John Lloyd in 1984.

The women begin fourth round play today.

Second seed Monica Seles of the United States, a two-time U.S. Open champion, goes against Sandrine Testud of France. Seles had lost only three games in reaching the fourth round, but she was tied 5-5 in the first set against Testud, who is ranked 36th in the world and has never played Seles before.

Also today, fourth seed Conchita Martinez of Spain routed Asa Carlsson of Sweden 6-2, 6-1 to reach the quarterfinals.

Amanda Coetzer of South Africa takes on Lisa Raymond of the United States in a duel between unseeded players, and eighth seed Lindsay Davenport takes on Linda Wild in an all-American matchup tonight.