NEW YORK (AP) -- Gustavo Kuerten dug a big hole, then worked his way out Sunday night at the U.S. Open.

The top-seeded Brazilian rallied to beat big-serving Belarussian Max Mirnyi 6-7 (5), 5-7, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3), 6-2 in the final match of the third round.

	Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil received a lot of local support during his comeback victory Sunday night.

Kuerten played for 3 hours and 19 minutes before converting a break point on his 11th chance. His backhand passing shot clipped the net cord and skipped over Mirnyi's head for a 3-1 lead in the final set, and Kuerten quickly closed out the victory.

"There's a reason he's No. 1," Mirnyi said. "He has won many matches of this type the past couple of years."

The three-time French Open champion remained on course for a potential semifinal showdown against 19-year-old American Andy Roddick, whose startling ascent has revived hope for the next generation of American men's tennis.

Roddick made another breakthrough Sunday by advancing to the second week of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time. In a rout worthy of his favorite team, the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Roddick blew out French Open runner-up Alex Corretja 6-4, 6-2, 6-2.

"Incredible -- best I've ever seen Roddick look," four-time Open champion John McEnroe said.

Next up will be Tommy Robredo in the fourth round on Tuesday. It's another milestone match for Roddick, who made a big splash at the French Open and Wimbledon before losing in the third round.

He said he can sense the stakes rise.

"It's a blast," he said. "You definitely feel it a little bit more. I'm no longer the new guy. I'm not surprising anybody. I'm not sneaking up on anybody anymore.

"Still, I'm definitely having fun. I'm playing tennis. That's a blast."

The men's final 16 will also include beleaguered Lleyton Hewitt but not popular Goran Ivanisevic. The reigning Wimbledon champion, seeded 15th, lost to Albert Costa 6-4, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2).

"This time I didn't have so much luck," Ivanisevic said. "I had it at Wimbledon."

Hewitt drew only scattered jeers while beating Albert Portas 6-1, 6-3, 6-4. But the fiery Australian then had to fend off another round of questions about his comments perceived by some as racial during a second-round match against a black player.

"I've been through this three days straight now," said Hewitt, who denies that his comments were racial. "I apologized if it came out the wrong way. I said that right from the start."

The day's marathon winner was Robredo, an unseeded Spaniard who needed 3{ hours to upset fifth-seeded countryman Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (1).

Kuerten's late-night match was the sort that makes the Open unique. Thousands of noisy fans -- a few waving Brazilian flags -- stayed until the finish at 12:17 a.m. They roared as a jubilant Kuerten climbed to the first row of seats to hug his mother.

Mirnyi, an intimidating serve-and-volleyer at 6-foot-5, hit 22 aces and won 124 points at the net. But Kuerten hit 33 aces and lost serve only once, in the second set.

The momentum switched during a dramatic sequence in the third set. Kuerten was unable to convert eight set points before closing out the tiebreaker with a return winner.

On an afternoon pretty as a topspin lob, with sunshine and temperatures in the 70s, Roddick mixed some finesse with his overpowering serve and forehand. He boomed four aces in one game -- at 114, 123, 110 and 136 mph -- but against a Spaniard who's best from the baseline, Roddick also settled into some long rallies.

And won most of them.

"When I started grinding out a couple of points rather than just teeing off right away, I started getting into my groove," Roddick said. "I showed him I wasn't just going to give points away. That helped me a lot."