No. 1 Roger Federer and No. 2 Lleyton Hewitt won in straight sets Tuesday to advance in the Pacific Life Open.
Hewitt had a slightly more difficult time, beating Frenchman Michael Llodra 6-2, 7-6 (3).
Taylor Dent upset Australian Open champion Marat Safin 7-5, 6-4 in their evening match. The 23-year-old Dent, ranked No. 32, also has wins over Hewitt and No. 9 David Nalbandian this year.
PHOTO: EPA
Dent was especially effective with his serve-and-volley game against the No. 4 Safin. Dent won 25 of 26 points when he got his first serve in.
He also made just 15 unforced errors to 21 by Safin, who ended the match with a double-fault.
Safin, a 25-year-old player from Moscow, was extremely frustrated.
PHOTO: AP
"Just the worst match I ever played probably in my career," he said. "I didn't feel so bad on the court ever in my life. No matter what I would do, it just would not go my way.
"It's a terrible feeling."
Predictably, Dent was pleased with his play.
"I've learned how to compete a little bit better, learned how to hold myself together," he said.
On the women's side, 1997 and 2000 Indian Wells champion Lindsay Davenport advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-1, 6-4 win over 16-year-old Ukrainian Viktoriya Kutuzova.
Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova survived a close call against Colombia's Fabiola Zuluaga, pulling out a 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 victory.
Former No. 1 Kim Clijsters continued her comeback from a wrist injury by defeating Russia's Evgenia Linetskaya 6-2, 6-1 in their fourth-round match. No. 5 Elena Dementieva of Russia advanced with a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory over France's Tatiana Golovin.
Although Muller was no match for the 23-year-old Swiss star, the 21-year-old player from Luxembourg is on the rise.
The left-hander vaulted from 189th to No. 68 in the rankings last year. He was the world's No. 1 junior in 2001.
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