NEW YORK -- While most of the American men in the U.S. Open draw made quick exits, the big names are playing at their peaks.

One of those names, the work-in-progress 19-year-old Andy Roddick, showed Tuesday night exactly why he is viewed as a potential champion for years to come. Roddick blasted a 141 mph serve -- third-fastest in tournament history -- during his 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 win over Spain's Tommy Robredo.

The victory vaulted Roddick into the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam for the first time and made him the youngest men's quarterfinalist at the Open since Andre Agassi in 1988.

He'll next play the winner of the match between Tommy Haas and Lleyton Hewitt.

Haas led 6-3, 2-2 when play was suspended until Wednesday because of rain.

"I just hope they run each other a lot," Roddick said.

On Wednesday, the 31-year-old Agassi and 30-year-old Pete Sampras will square off in an American quarterfinal showdown. The duo, meeting for the 32nd time, are the oldest players in the tournament.

In other men's matches on Tuesday, No. 1-seeded Gustavo Kuerten advanced by beating Albert Costa 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (7). Kuerten will next play Yevgeny Kafelnikov, who beat Arnaud Clement 6-3, 6-4, 6-3.

Kafelnikov ended a three-match losing streak against Clement. Kafelnikov, seeded No. 7, had not beaten Clement since 1999 in Moscow and played careful, calculated tennis after being stretched to five sets in the first two rounds and four in the third, all against qualifiers.

Occasionally, the strategy almost backfired.

In the first set, the Russian wasted four set points before putting Clement away. His lead teetered for a while with Clement, the Australian Open runner-up, getting three break chances that would have tied the set. Each time, Kafelnikov saved the breaks.

Wearing a bandanna and wraparound sunglasses on an overcast day, the 12th-seeded Clement's finest moment came in the second set. After Kafelnikov slammed Clement's drop shot to go up 4-2, he had a chance to build on the edge.

With Clement out of position, sliding to return a shot, Kafelnikov tried a half-volley. Clement got to it for the point and Kafelnikov threw his racket to the court in anger.

He recovered his composure to break Clement and went on to win the set. Then Kafelnikov broke twice in the third set before Clement drew a warning for hitting a ball into the stands. While he was arguing the call with chair umpire Enric Molina, rain interrupted play.

When the players returned after 47 minutes, Kafelnikov finished Clement off, capitalizing on 54 unforced errors to advance.