NEW YORK -- On Thursday evening, Jan-Michael Gambill did what so many other Americans do when they get to the U.S. Open: He turned it up a notch.

	"I'm pretty intense on the court," Gambill said.

Gambill demolished No. 9 seed Carlos Moya -- who wasn't a favorite but was considered a threat after reaching the final in Cincinnati -- 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 to advance to the third round in just 1 hour, 34 minutes.

"I felt like I played a clean match," Gambill said. "I can't really return better than that. Didn't matter if he was making first or second serves, I was returning them. That feels great."

Hard courts are a haven to the Americans who rather unspectacularly all fell out of Wimbledon before the fourth round. But in New York, there is hope for the home team.

Andre Agassi played one of his best matches ever Thursday evening -- at least "according to the scoreboard," as he eliminated another young American, Justin Gimelstob with a 6-0, 6-1, 6-1 victory.

James Blake's third-round appearance makes this his best U.S. Open. Andy Roddick's shown no sign of faltering. And Pete Sampras eased into the second round like the 2001 runner-up he is.

Gambill, who had an 0-3 record against Moya, including an elimination at the 1998 Open, thought it was time for a little payback.

"Coming into this match, I still wasn't thinking, 'He's been playing great tennis this summer,' " Gambill said. "I was thinking I wanted revenge for some matches I thought I should have won in the past. That brought me into this match with the right attitude. We worked on a game plan that I was going to stick to whether I was going to win or lose. It was a game plan that worked."

Hard courts suit 25-year-old Gambill's game. He's usually one of the leaders in aces in the ATP -- although he sometimes cancels them out with double faults -- using placement as much as speed. In the break point battle he usually stops his opponent from converting -- Moya only got one break to Gambill's six. Plus Gambill came to the net 31 times, winning 22 points -- twice as much as Moya.

It's a recently added weapon to his arsenal.

"I'm absolutely a technically better volleyer (now)," Gambill said. "I have more confidence up at the net. My feet are in the right spot. Before you'd see me stumbling all over the court, just not in the right position to hit the ball."

He's also worked on his timing and anticipation using a split step to get into position, and is playing more like the top-25 player he was before injuries hindered his play throughout the past year.

"When you have the right frame of mind, you see the ball when he hits it. If you're going in the right direction, you're in great shape. Then you just need to have technique, which is getting better."

Gambill's best surface is hard courts, so he was disappointed when shoulder problems forced him to retire in the second round of the Open last year and made him miss three months of play.

But he's in good shape now. He's one of the most fit players on the tour, along with Lleyton Hewitt and Agassi. He's been known to do a maniacal 500 to 1,000 situps a day, supposedly for the power it gains him -- but it can't hurt his modeling career either.

After finishing 2001 with a career-high ranking of 21, he got off to a good start in 2002. He reached the semifinals at Memphis, San Jose and Delray. The results look better when you realize that two of those losses were to No. 1-ranked Hewitt, and he lost his only final in Los Angeles to Agassi.

Next up is Argentina's Gaston Gaudio, who Gambill beat in their only meeting last year. Gaudio who finished last year ranked 47 before raising it to 21 this season. But a greater challenge could lie in the fourth round. Gambill is on track to meet Agassi, who has won their past five meetings.

But Gambill showed an intensity against Moya -- protesting a call at a not-exactly-crucial point in the second set as he lead 3-2, love-15 -- that could help carry him forward.

"I stay fiery out there," Gambill said. "I stay intense. That's how I play my best tennis. I did it today."

And if he feels the inspiration waning, he's going to turn to his idol Jimmy Connors, another American who practically built the house Gambill's sitting in by getting fired up.

"Watching Connors was very exciting for me. I think I might get some old tapes of Connors and watch them for my matches. He's the reason I play the game in the first place."

Cynthia Faulkner is the tennis editor at ESPN.com.