Kuerten survives five-set thriller

Top seed Gustavo Kuerten survived a determined challenge from Max Mirnyi of Belarus to register a 6-7 (5-7) 5-7 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-3) 6-2 third-round win at the U.S. Open in the early hours of Monday morning.

The world number one, a triple French Open champion on the red clay of Roland Garros, proved his mettle on the fast hardcourts of the National Tennis Center by overcoming a two-set deficit against the serve-and-volley power of Mirnyi in a three-hour, 31-minute battle that stretched past midnight.

Brazilian Kuerten, 24, stayed alive by winning the third-set tie-break on his ninth set point.

Kuerten was again unable to break Mirnyi's serve in the fourth set but he finally seemed to break the spirit of his 6-foot-5-inch (1.96m) opponent when he captured his second successive tie-break.

The Brazilian broke Mirnyi's serve for the first time in the fourth game of the fifth set to seize a 3-1 lead, and Kuerten finished him off by breaking again in the eighth game when the Belarussian netted a backhand volley.

The 24-year-old Mirnyi, ranked 44th, 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.

Kuerten, who delivered 33 aces to Mirnyi's 22, advanced to a fourth-round match against Spaniard Albert Costa, who upset 15th-seeded Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic of Croatia 6-4 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-2).