NEW YORK, 30 August 2003 — Lindsay Davenport and James Blake led an early American charge at the US Open yesterday. Third seed Davenport made a mockery of her fitness concerns with a 6-0, 6-2 third round victory over Hungarian Melinda Czink while Blake ousted Armenia’s Sargis Sargsian 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6.

In other action, former runner-up Mark Philippoussis made light work of Anthony Dupuis, smashing the Frenchman 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 and Belgium’s Xavier Malisse beat 19th seed Agustin Calleri 6-2, 6-7, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

Davenport, who took a pain-killing injection on her pinched toe nerve before the last grand slam of the year, looked increasingly confident in her movement and flexibility throughout her canter.

The result — coming after two previous straight sets wins for the loss of seven games — also did wonders for her confidence. “Before I arrived here, I didn’t know what was going to happen,” the 27-year-old said.

“But this week is just what I needed. I’ve played well, my foot is feeling good and I’ve saved energy for the second week.

“Each day that goes by I’m getting more and more confident in my abilities...now I like to think I have a chance.”

With Serena and Venus Williams, who have claimed the last four Open titles between them, sidelined through injury, Davenport admitted she would like to capitalize on their absence from this year’s tournament.

“It is an incredible opportunity. One of the Williams sisters has taken me out her every year since 1999, so I guess it’s nice not to have to worry about them,” said the three-times grand slam champion.

In the fourth round she will meet Russian 19th seed Nadia Petrova, who went one better as she turned the tables on 14th seed Amanda Coetzer in a 6-0, 6-1 embarrassment.

Philippoussis, Wimbledon finalist last month and 20th seed here, swept past Dupuis. The Australian is yet to drop a set at Flushing Meadows. He faces Argentine David Nalbandian in the third round, with Swiss Roger Federer, the man who beat him at Wimbledon in July, a potential fourth round opponent.

Nalbandian outlasted fighting Finn Jarkko Nieminen, earning a marathon 5-7, 6-3, 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (7-3) into the third round. The Argentine bull found himself tested by the man from the north, ranked 39th in the world and beaten by the South American three weeks ago in Montreal.

Nieminen fought through an upset stomach and some late cramping in his legs as he went down after struggling for three hours, 39 minutes to the 13th seed.

Nieminen pounded his racket on the hardcourt in frustration as he slid to try for a return in the fifth-set tie-breaker as Nalbandian took a 5-3 lead in the decider.

The seed produced a service winner for three match points and claimed victory as the frustrated Finn put a backhand long to lose on his 86th unforced error on a hot and humid afternoon.

Russian-American Dimitry Tursunov, on the waiting list for citizenship after half his life spent in California and with an American university education, advanced to his best-ever showing at a major.

He defeated John Van Lottum of the Netherlands 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 for an unexpected third round place.

World No. 1 Andre Agassi dispatched stubborn Swedish southpaw Andreas Vinciguerra 7-6 (7-1), 6-1, 6-4 here Thursday to book a third-round US Open date against a familiar foe - Yevgeny Kafelnikov.

Vinciguerra, ranked 92nd, was playing only his second hardcourt match since February.

But he tested Agassi in the first set and dueled him through seven deuces in the seventh game of the final set before giving up a service break.

Kafelnikov, who turns 30 in February, won the 1996 French Open and 1999 Australian Open but has struggled to a 26-21 record this season and has not gone past the third round of a Slam since a semifinal run here in 2001.

French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero, the third seed from Spain, beat Austria’s Jurgen Melzer 1-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-2, 6-4 and Argentina’s fifth-seeded Guillermo Coria, a French Open semifinalist, bounced Czech Bohdan Ulihrach 6-2, 6-1, 6-4

On the women’s side, French Open champion Justine Henin-Hardenne, the second seed from Belgium, beat Croatia’s Silvija Talaja 6-1, 6-2 in 51 minutes, while sixth seed Jennifer Capriati took 63 to down Slovakian Martina Sucha 6-1, 6-1.