NEW YORK -- Monica Seles scored a 6-3 6-4 fourth-round victory over 16th-ranked Jennifer Capriati on Sunday to secure her sixth consecutive U.S. Open quarterfinal berth and keep alive another noteworthy streak.

In 10 defeats in 53 matches played this year, she has never fallen to a player ranked below her.

	It wasn't always pretty, but Monica Seles advances to the quarterfinals with a matchup most likely against Martina Hingis.

All of the fifth-ranked Seles' defeats have been to the four players ranked above her. She lost to Martina Hingis twice, Lindsay Davenport three times, Mary Pierce twice and Venus Williams twice.

"I reached my peak -- I think this is it for me," Seles said, joking about her inability to bypass a higher ranked player.

"I enjoy the challenge. That means those players are better. It only means I can keep working harder and trying."

Seles could face another test against a player ranked above her in the quarterfinals if world No. 1 Martina Hingis prevails against 11th-ranked Sandrine Testud of France. The match was suspended late Sunday with Hingis ahead 6-2, 2-1.

The other women's quarterfinal pits third-seeded Wimbledon champion Venus Williams against eighth-seeded Nathalie Tauziat of France.

In a day session disrupted by rain, Williams scored a 6-2 6-2 victory over Magui Serna of Spain.

Tauziat upended ninth-seeded Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario of Spain with a 6-3 6-2 fourth-round victory.

In the past, Seles was typically a quiet competitor during matches, except for her trademark grunts each time she pummelled a ball with her trademark two-fisted swings.

Lately, however, Seles has become argumentative when she believes she is receiving a raw deal on line calls.

Sunday, Seles showed her displeasure about a number of calls -- sometimes trotting up to the umpire's chair to complain, other times shrugging her arms in disgust.

"The last few years, I argued quite a few calls," Seles said. "Maybe (I'm) just changing as a person.

"I think today, when it's such an important match, more pressure, maybe (I'm) more a little bit on the edge."

Seles was determined not to get drawn into another of the many marathon encounters she has had through the years with Capriati in nine previous matches.

Attempting to win with a wide margin, Seles worked hard to keep Capriati at bay.

"I think just from the beginning she came out really strong, you know, just from the first ball," said Capriati, who was also on the losing end of their 6-4 6-3 fourth-round match at the U.S. Open last year.

"She was just hitting them like full speed. She served really well, It was tough for me to break every time."

Leading 6-3 3-0, Seles faced her biggest challenge in the match and it was not from Capriati, even though the fourth game would turn out to be the only service break Capriati would post in the 69-minute match.

The challenge was her own sweat.

Seles was wringing out the bottom of her shirt courtside, sending a torrent of water splashing to the ground.

"I just really got flustered with how sweaty I became there," Seles said. "I was dripping in my own sweat. I had like a hard time moving. I think my mind went away.

"Suddenly at 3-2, I realized my breaks are slipping away. I better wake up because it's going to be a third set. Thank goodness, in time I did."

Their epic 1991 semifinal battle here still remains a topic of conversation each time these two play.

Capriati, who has been on the losing end of seven meetings with Seles, had served for that famous match twice in the third set.

Nevertheless, it was Seles that went on to a 6-3 3-6 7-6 (7-3) victory.

"That's one of the classic matches that the public enjoys so much," Seles said. "I think it's the first time in women's tennis you had two such hard hitters. We were punching, literally, each other back and forth.

"So it changed the face of women's tennis."

Although Seles still remembers the 1991 encounter fondly, Capriati has filed it away in the forgotten bin.

"I really don't think about that match anymore," Capriati said. "I mean, I think it's kind of annoying a little bit, to tell you the truth. You know we played last year, played a few times.

"It's all part of the hype, the media's hype."