Sampras, Agassi roll toward possible match; 9th seed Henman loses; no upsets for top women.(Chicago Tribune)

FLUSHING MEADOWS, N.Y. _ It is either hellish or heavenly, depending on one's perspective.

Either way the right lower corner of the men's U.S. Open draw is a killer quarter that currently houses seven of the last eight Open champions. That those seven titles were held by three players_they own eight in all_does not lessen the impact considering that Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi and Patrick Rafter are moving toward the round of 16, and each other. The collision will leave only one standing in the semifinals.

"A lot of U.S. Open titles in that little section but that's the way the draw went, and let's play it," Sampras said.

Sampras, a four-time Open champion seeded 10th after a sub-par year, had an easy time Saturday with Mikhail Youzhny 6-3, 6-2, 6-2, while Agassi, who has won this tournament twice, defeated Ramon Delgado 7-5, 7-6 (5), 6-3 in another third-round match. Rafter, who took consecutive Open titles in `97 and `98, was set to play Nicolas Lapentti in a night match.

The lone upset of the day was 43rd-ranked Xavier Malisse's five-set victory over No. 9 Tim Henman.

"I wish I had the ability to structure the draw the way I want," Agassi said. "But it's all about matchups, it's all about playing your best tennis at the right time. I think the draw, if anything, proves not just how much ability it takes to win a tournament like this, but also a little bit of luck."

Sampras had more of the former than the latter, but on a warm, windy afternoon, he said it took as much guile borne of 13 years of experience as either skill or luck. Sampras, currently ranked 19th, put in 75 percent of his first serves, winning 86 percent of those points, and on the return, was chipping and charging.