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   "I'm very proud of myself today, I don't even know how I managed to win," said the 20-year-old third seed. "I was not too happy with my performance. I had a lot of negative elements in the game, I didn't serve well."

  

   Second seed Rafael Nadal handed Serbia the day's only setback as he advanced when Janko Tipsarevic had to quit with a painful rib injury trailing 6-2, 6-3, 3-2 against the Spaniard.

   Nadal had been the fitness concern coming in after struggling with a knee niggle which had slowed his usual frantic pace in the first round.

   "I'm sorry for him," said Nadal. "My knee is feeling much better than in the last few days. I hope it will improve more and be better for the next round."

  

   Djokovic was joined with wins by Serbian compatriots Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic, who moved through to the fourth round on the women's side.

   Number three Jankovic rallied past French Open junior Alize Cornet 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 while Swiss-based number five Ivanovic overcame Russian Vera Dushevina 6-1, 6-3.

   Ivanovic had no complaints: "I was really happy with the result. It's always nice to get through like this. I played some good tennis."

  

   Djokovic had to deal with cramping and back pain over nearly five hours of battle to survive a Czech challenge from the sturdy Stepanek.

    The Serb said it was a psychological as well as physical test.

    "It was difficult to stay calm, because he saw me cramping.  He was in better condition, but didn't have a lot of energy left," he said.

    "He tried to make me run more so I could get more cramps and more troubles. But I managed to remain calm in the most important moments, so that's a positive thing."

  

   Stepanek has clawed back inside the top 100 since a nerve injury in his neck which knocked him out him a year ago. He came to the court with wins in 12 of his 15 last hardcourt contests, including a title at Los Angeles.

    Spanish eighth seed Tommy Robredo sought a little divine inspiration as he held on in another five-setter to knock out American Mardy Fish 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 6-7 (7-9), 6-4.

    "I didn't have much hope of winning this match," confessed Robredo, who finally won back-to-back matches this summer. "I just fought and prayed for a last chance. It's just great to win a match like that."

  

    In one of the day's biggest upsets, Australian 16th seed and 2001 winner Lleyton Hewitt was knocked out by Argentina's Agustin Calleri 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2. German Philipp Kohlschreiber also earned an upset as he knocked out 11th seed Mikhail Youzhny 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3.

    Croatian 12th seed Ivan Ljubicic joined in with a win over Romanian veteran Andrei Pavel 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (8-6) while Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka piled on more misery for patchy Russian Marat Safin with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 second-round victory.

   "Everything I tried didn't work out," said two-time Grand Slam champion Safin, who lifted the US Open title in 2000 over Pete Sampras. "It was kind of a weird match. I couldn't really feel comfortable out there."

  

    Women's top seed Justine Henin managed to smile after winning the first ten games on the way to a 6-0, 6-2 rout of Russian Ekatarina Makarova to blast into the fourth round.

    The emphatic win was the third straight lopsided victory for the Belgian world number one, each of them containing a 6-0 set.

    Henin, who won a fourth French Open title in June, will next face another Russian in 15th seed Dinara Safina, who ended the dream run of American Ahsha Rolle 6-4, 6-3.

   "I love competition, I just want to give my best in every shot. That's what I did," said four-time French Open winner Henin.

   "I was very happy the way I played today. It's been aggressive, it's been good from the first point until the end. I'm very glad about that," she said.

   Serena Williams, playing for the first time since Wimbledon, whipped Vera Zvonareva of Russia 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) while Wimbledon finalist Marion Bartoli, seeded tenth, advanced over Czech Lucie Safarova 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. DPA