Andy Roddick defeated Marat Safin in straight sets at the Indian Wells Masters Series tournament. The third seed looked in little trouble as he eased through 7-6 (8-6) 6-2 against his Russian opponent.
Lleyton Hewitt's bid to win the event for a third straight year ended with a shock 6-3 4-6 6-1 defeat in the third round by Juan Ignacio Chela.
But top seed Roger Federer cruised through to the fourth round with a 6-3 6-2 win over Fernando Gonzalez.
Fifth seed Andre Agassi also made smooth progress, sweeping Dominik Hrbaty aside 6-2 6-4.
For Roddick, it was revenge for his Australian Open defeat by Safin, and his first win over the 24-year-old.
"He played amazingly in Australia. He definitely didn't play as well today," Roddick said.
"I think I came in a little bit more, keeping him guessing, maybe not being too predictable."
Former world number one Hewitt, seeded eighth, lost the first set before recovering to level the third-round match, but Chela dominated the decider.
Hewitt praised Chela, saying: "He didn't miss a lot of balls. Even when I had him on a stretch a couple of times he came up with good defensive shots.
"He had to play one of his best matches to beat me out there."
Argentinaian Chela will now play Germany's Tommy Haas, who beat Spaniard Albert Costa 7-6 3-6 6-3.
MMIX
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