Dent sweeps

For the first time in six U.S. Open appearances, Taylor Dent has

advanced to the third round of men’s singles competition.

Having reached the second round in 1998 and 2000, the 22-year-old

former Corona del Mar High standout took the next step Thursday with

a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (9-7) victory over Russia’s Nikolay Davydenko at the

USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.

Dent advances to the third round to face No. 15-seeded Fernando

Gonzalez of Chile, who was a 7-6, 6-1, 6-2 winner over Stefan Koubek.

A victory over Gonzalez, who reached the quarterfinals last year in

his second U.S. Open appearance, would likely pit Dent against

top-seeded Andre Agassi in the fourth round.

Dent is scheduled to play Gonzalez Saturday, with the time to be

determined after tournament play is concluded today.

Dent prevailed by preventing Davydenko from converting on any of

his five break-point opportunities. Dent continually held serve

despite 12 double faults, which he countered with eight aces.

After pulling away late in the first and second sets, both of

which were less than 40 minutes, Dent took 53 minutes to dispatch

Davydenko in a tight third set.