Rafter too strong for Rusedski

Greg Rusedski, the British No 2, emerged on the wrong side of a 5-7, 7-6, 6-4 defeat to Pat Rafter in the quarter-finals of the ATP Tour Tennis Masters Series in Cincinnati.

In a battle of the big servers Rusedski's confidence and stoic approach matched Rafter throughout the first two sets. At 5-4 down in the second, the Briton staved off four set points on his own serve and then forced a tie-break but Rafter's guile and deft touch enabled the Australian to take a two-set advantage. Both players comfortably held serve in the opening two games of the third set, but Rafter's thundering deliveries followed by precision cross-court volleys soon proved too difficult a combination for Rusedski to challenge.

The French Open champion, Gustavo Kuerten, embarrassed the Wimbledon champion, Goran Ivanisevic, 6-2, 6-1 in their third-round meeting on Thursday night.

Kuerten, the Brazilian top seed, was too sharp for an inconsistent Ivanisevic as he proved he is more than a clay-court player. Kuerten, a semi-finalist here a year ago, has won five events this year and 20 of his last 22 matches ­ all on clay.

Lleyton Hewitt, the fifth seed, rallied to beat Max Mirnyi, of Belarus, 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 for his 55th win of the year ­ the best record on the ATP tour. In the quarter-finals, he will face Jan-Michael Gambill, of the United States, who defeated Guillermo Cañas, of Argentina, 6-3, 6-4. Ivan Ljubicic, of Croatia, became the third unseeded player in the quarter-finals with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Hicham Arazi.

At the Los Angeles Classic, Monica Seles, of the United States, took more than two hours to beat the Frenchwoman Sandrine Testud 3-6, 7-6, 6-4 in the third round on Thursday.

"She and I always play these marathon matches," said Seles. "Both of us have similar style games and we're both huge competitors."

Seles will meet the champion here for the past two years, Serena Williams, in the last eight. It will be her second match with a Williams sister in five days, having lost to Venus in the Acura Classic final on Sunday.

Seles, the sixth seed, is playing just her third tournament since May. A stress fracture in her right foot kept her out of the French Open and Wimbledon, and she still cannot incorporate running into her workouts.

The No 3 seed, Kim Clijsters of Belgium, defeated Alicia Molik, of Australia, 7-6, 6-3. The No 2 seed, Lindsay Davenport of the United States, beat the 18-year-old Czech Daja Bedanova 6-3, 6-3 in 62 minutes. Davenport faced just two break points on her serve against last year's WTA newcomer of the year.