MELBOURNE, Australia -- Yevgeny Kafelnikov proved by winning last year's Australian Open that he was no one-slam wonder.

But the Russian muffed a chance at a third Grand Slam title by losing a U.S. Open semifinal -- and he's not going to let another huge opportunity pass him by.

	Yevgeny Kafelnikov will face Belgian qualifier Christophe Rochus in the round of 16.

"It was a good thing to win a second Grand Slam" last year, he said. "Before that I only had the (1996) French Open and people were thinking maybe I was only a shot to win that one, but I proved I can win another."

Last year at Melbourne Park, however, he didn't have to contend with Pete Sampras. He even thanked Sampras, a winner of 12 Grand Slam titles, for not showing up. Nor did he have a title-chasing Lleyton Hewitt in his sights.

Kafelnikov didn't have to work hard Saturday during a 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Austrian Stefan Koubek to set up a fourth-round meeting against Austrian qualifier Christophe Rochus.

By receiving the No. 2 seeding, the defending champion was assured that top-seeded Andre Agassi and No. 3 Sampras were in the other half of the draw.

His title hopes improved dramatically when seeded players tumbled out in the opening two rounds, leaving only No. 4 Nicolas Keifer and No. 12 Magnus Norman on his side of the draw.

Winning two more matches might bring a semifinal match against Hewitt, who has won consecutive tournaments and 13 straight matches -- his latest 6-2, 7-5, 6-3 over Romanian Adrian Voinea.

And Kafelnikov, who prides himself on playing more tournaments than any of his rivals, is relishing the chance for a rematch against the Australian teenager, who shares his passion for playing as many matches as possible.

"Sure, I would like that," he said.

Kafelnikov knows he will face a tough battle against Hewitt and the crowd.

He became public enemy No. 1 in Australia after describing a court prepared for last year's Australia-Russia Davis Cup semifinal as a "potato field."

He also blundered by saying he'd give Hewitt a tennis lesson in those semifinals. He lost to Hewitt, and Australia won at Brisbane, then went on to beat France in the final.

Again, said Kafelnikov, Hewitt "is playing in his home country. He gets a lot of support and ... he probably has done major work before the tournament _ that's why he still runs a lot of balls and he plays solid on the ground."

"He hasn't had a big test _ he doesn't face particularly difficult players," Kafelnikov added.

But if you advance to the semifinals, "you have to play somebody who is playing very good tennis," he said.

In the round of 16, he meets Rochus, who beat Max Mirnyi of Belarus 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (2).

No. 4 Nicolas Kiefer beat Morocco's Karim Alami 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 before the rain. No. 12 Magnus Norman took a 5-1 lead in the third set and then waited out the rain for four hours before finishing a 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (8) victory over fellow Swede Jonas Bjorkman.

France's Arnaud Clement defeated Swiss player Roger Federer 6-1, 6-4, 6-3.

Nine men's seeds have been knocked out thus far, and third seed Pete Sampras had to come back from a two-set deficit to avoid elimination on Friday.