Kafelnikov, Norman win

MELBOURNE, Jan 22 (Reuters/AP): Defending champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov crushed unseeded Austrian Stefan Koubek 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 in the third round of the Australian Open today.

Kafelnikov, seeded second, produced a convincing display of controlled aggression and precision reminiscent of the form which carried him to the title last year.

Kafelnikov's flashy, all-court game overwhelmed Koubek, a 23-year-old left-hander whose best results have been on clay.

The Russian cruised through the first two sets in 52 minutes and then grabbed an important break of serve in the opening game of the final set.

"I was quite relieved when the weather turned out to be bad," Kafelnikov said. "I felt if I played indoors my chances would be a lot higher. I served quite well enough and didn't give Stefan any chance."

In the round of 16, he meets Belgian qualifier Christophe Rochus, who beat Max Mirnyi of Belarus 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6.

No. 12 Magnus Norman took a 5-1 lead in the third set and then waited out the rain before finishing a 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 victory over fellow Swede Jonas Bjorkman.

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

Koubek, playing in only his fifth Grand Slam tournament, double-faulted to give Kafelnikov two break points and then clubbed a backhand long to surrender the serve.

The 25-year-old Russian sealed a comfortable win in 82 minutes, with the retractable roof over Melbourne park's Centre Court closed after rain stopped play on outside courts.

Kafelnikov is hoping to become the eighth man in the Open era of tennis to win back-to-back Australian titles. The last to do so was American Jim Courier in 1992-93.

He is in the easier bottom half of the men's singles draw, away from tournament heavyweights Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras and Mark Philippoussis.

Nicolas Kiefer, the last remaining German in the men's draw, kept his nation's hopes alive with a straights sets win over Moroccan Karim Alami.

The fourth seed outplayed Alami to win 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in 99 minutes, advancing to the round of 16 after the six other Germans who entered the men's singles failed to make it past the second round.

Kiefer told reporters his form was steadily improving.

"It's my best match so far. I didn't make too many mistakes," he said.

Kiefer won the Australian Open junior title in 1995 and reached the quarter-finals of the seniors in 1998, the same stage he reached at Wimbledon the previous year.

While all the attention has been on Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras, the 22-year-old Kiefer has quietly progressed through the easier bottom half of the men's singles draw, dropping just one set in three matches.

More importantly, Kiefer was able to remain focused throughout the match, even when a dispirited Alami started clowning about late in the third set when things started to go against him.

Having propelled himself into the top 10 last year with three tour titles, Kiefer said his aim this year was to leave his mark on the Grand Slams, following in the illustrious footsteps of his countrymen Boris Becker and Michael Stich.