MELBOURNE, Australia -- Eager autograph-hunters flocked around Anna Kournikova after her third-round win in the Australian Open Friday and thrust out glossy magazines bearing her photogenic image.

The scene is the same even after her daily practice sessions.

At a post-match news conference, cameras clicked noisily when the glamor girl of tennis flashed a smile at a question about her romantic life.

Tennis sometimes seems secondary with the 11th-seeded Kournikova despite her competent, if not champion-level, performances. The 18-year-old Russian sped through her first two rounds at the tournament by winning 17 consecutive games.

She looked shaky at times in a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Kveta Hrdlickova of the Czech Republic. She lost a 3-0 lead in the second set, partly because of a faulty forehand, and survived four break points to reach 4-3 before winning the set.

Kournikova will face second-seeded Lindsay Davenport in the fourth round.

After more than four years on the tour, Kournikova has yet to win a WTA singles title. She has won six doubles tournaments, pairing with world No. 1 Martina Hingis five times and Monica Seles once.

Publicly, at least, Kournikova handles the pressure. She is equally adept at fending off questions about her private life.

On Friday, The Herald Sun of Melbourne reported that she and Australian player Mark Philippoussis were seen kissing in the underground carpark of the tennis center.

Television cameras focused Friday on Kournikova when she joined Philippoussis' entourage at center court to watch his third-round win over countryman Andrew Ilie. She also saw his second-round match. Both she and Philippoussis live in Miami.

"We're just friends," Kournikova said. "I know him from Florida. I've known him for a long time. We played juniors together."

"So there's no romance in the air?" a reporter asked.

"None that I can tell you," she replied.

Kournikova has made worldwide headlines for other relationships. She has been linked to Russian hockey stars Sergei Fedorov and Pavel Bure and Ecuadorian tennis player Nicolas Lapentti, whom she often watched during his semifinal run at last year's Australian Open.