PARIS -- It turns out Gustavo Kuerten can be outslugged in the French Open.

	Guillermo Canas celebrates Sunday's victory over Lleyton Hewitt.

And, just as surprisingly, Lleyton Hewitt can be outhustled.

Three-time champion Kuerten and the top-ranked Hewitt bowed out in fourth-round matches that finished 30 minutes apart Sunday at opposite ends of Roland Garros.

Kuerten's 17-match winning streak in the Grand Slam tournament dissolved in a matter-of-fact 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 loss to 20th-seeded Albert Costa, a Spaniard whose 11 career titles all have come on clay.

"He didn't let me play the way I wanted to,'' said Kuerten, who took 2½ months off after right hip surgery in February. "He really played a precise match.''

Instead of a Hewitt-Kuerten showdown for a berth in the final four, Costa will play No. 15 Guillermo Canas of Argentina.

Canas heads to his first Grand Slam quarterfinal after winning the final six games to oust U.S. Open champion Hewitt 6-7 (1), 7-6 (13), 6-4, 6-3. The match started with temperatures in the 80s and finished more than four hours later with shadows covering half the court.

Andre Agassi was attempting to make the quarterfinals Monday when his fourth-round match against French wild-card entry Paul-Henri Mathieu was halted by rain for 15 minutes. Mathieu won the first two sets, 6-4, 6-3, the players left the court before starting the third and then returned a short time later.

The second set between Canas and Hewitt alone took 1½ hours, with Hewitt wasting five set points and Canas finally ending it on his 10th. In the marathon tiebreaker, Hewitt's double fault made it 14-13, and Canas took advantage by snapping a crosscourt forehand winner.

He then ran to the changeover chairs pumping both fists and yelling, celebrating as though he had won match right there.

In a way, he did.

Canas had shown Hewitt -- the ultimate on-court battler -- that he was prepared to smack right back every apparent point-ender, and run, run, run.

"There's times where you think he's looking a bit tired, but then he bounces back pretty well,'' said Hewitt, who beat Canas in five sets played over two days at the same stage of last year's French Open. "Physically, he's very strong.''

In another quarterfinal, two-time runner-up Alex Corretja will face No. 22 Andrei Pavel. Corretja beat Mariano Zabaleta 6-3, 6-2, 7-5, and Pavel upset No. 3 Tommy Haas 6-1, 7-6 (9), 6-4).

Andre Agassi, the 1999 champ, and Marat Safin are among those playing Monday for other spots in the last eight.

Kuerten never could find the silky shots that propelled him to the French Open crown in 1997 (his first title anywhere) and the past two years.

A completely healthy Guga, as he's known, probably would have generated more than the eight groundstroke winners that weren't nearly enough to counter Costa's 21.

Another indication of the match's tenor: Kuerten had three break points, Costa 17.

"I was moving good, I was feeling good, and I was running very good,'' Costa said after reaching his third Grand Slam quarterfinal, all at Roland Garros. "I wish that it were the final. We still have a long way to go.''

He might have to play all day against Canas, who's at his best on clay but showed versatility by reaching Wimbledon's fourth round last year.

Canas and Hewitt provided excellent play, animated displays, and sportsmanship.

They occasionally applauded each other's winners and even made their own line calls a few times, as though they were just two buddies on a public court.

The acting up was more frequent. Hewitt sliced his racket through a courtside flower box, sending red geranium petals flying; he had a ball boy hopping to avoid a ball hit in disgust after a lost point; he skipped three times toward the net while bellowing, "Come ooooooon!'' after pounding a backhand passing shot down the line. Canas threw his racket twice in 11th game of the second set; later bounced it high in the air and, as it rebounded off the ground, kicked it; and often threw kisses to the sky.

Hewitt opened the fourth set by taking three straight games, but then came an avalanche of mistakes. Take out that last set, though, and it's clear how close the magnificent match was: Through three sets, Canas won 138 points, Hewitt 136.

When Hewitt's 105th unforced error slapped the net on Canas' third match point, the Argentine slid on his back with arms aloft, leaving clay in his hair.

"All my life I've played like this,'' said Canas, who never let up despite a blister on his left foot. "I fight every point.''

So, generally, does Kuerten, which is part of why he and the French fans adore each other. He drew a heart in the clay after two match wins in 2001, and did a Ripkenesque victory lap slapping spectators' hands after his second-round match Wednesday.

While the victorious Costa was applauded politely as he walked off Center Court, the crowd of about 15,000 gave Kuerten a rowdy, 30-second salute: "Gu-ga!'' Clap-clap-clap. "Gu-ga!'' Clap-clap-clap.

The only other time a defending champion (Adriano Panatta) and No. 1-seeded player (Ilie Nastase) lost matches in the same round at the French Open was in the 1977 quarterfinals.

Kuerten won't play at Wimbledon.