WIMBLEDON, England -- Greg Rusedski buckled tight his armor and stood firm in the line of fire to beat Andy Roddick 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in a Wimbledon third-round battle of ballistics on Friday.

	Greg Rusedski owns the fastest serve in tennis -- 149 mph.

Rusedski, a Candian-born Brit, loomed large at the net and fired forehands like tracer bullets to oust the 11th seed in 85 super-charged minutes.

"This was a big step forward for me," Rusdeski said. "I was very confident before the match and I felt I had the edge on experience … that really helped.

"I played very well today but the most important thing is to still be here in the championships. The most important thing is surviving."

The English flags jostled with the Stars and Stripes for supremacy on Centre Court before the match, but from the very first point -- a service winner from Rusedski -- the home hero dominated.

Roddick, so often the perpetrator of savage beatings had the sting taken from his serve and his groundstrokes blunted by Rusedski.

"The wind was blowing and the dogs were barking and something got in my eye .. and the bounce didn't help that's for sure," Roddick joked when asked what had gone wrong.

"Greg played very well today, he put pressure on me and came up with big points when he needed to. He was hitting his chipper great, so credit to him on that. I don't know if it would have made any difference, but I could have hit it better today."

Rusedski owns the fastest recorded serve in the history of tennis -- a scorching 149 miles per hour in Indian Wells. But that was four years ago now and Roddick is fast closing. The American smashed down the fastest serve ever delivered at Wimbledon in his last round, a 144 mph bullet.

"I think still being in the tournament is wonderful," Rusedski said. "It doesn't really matter whether you play well or not so long as you survive.

"But I really want to enjoy this right now. You don't really get many performances on Centre Court like that where you play so well."

Rusedski next faces Xavier Malisse, who upset No. 5 seed Yevgeny Kafelnikov 7-6 (4), 7-5, 6-1 for a place in the quarterfinal.

Two more big servers, Richard Krajicek and Mark Philippoussis, coming back after serious injuries, established themselves as legitimate title threats.

Philippoussis was the first man to reach the round of 16, serving 33 aces and beating Nicolas Kiefer 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.

Krajicek, the 1996 champion, swept to a 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-2 victory over Thailand's Paradorn Srichaphan, who beat Andre Agassi in the second round.

Philippoussis and Krajicek will meet in the next round in what shapes up as one of the biggest hitting matches of the tournament and features two players making a remarkable resurgence after long injury layoffs.

Philippoussis missed most of last year following three operations on his left knee in the space of 14 months and spent two months in a wheelchair. He has also played sparingly this year.

The 6-foot-4 Australian reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals three years in a row from 1998-2000, but missed the tournament last year due to the injury. He got into this year's draw as a wild card because his ranking had slipped too low for direct entry.

Philippoussis relies on his huge serve, and his first serves Friday averaged 122 mph -- including a delivery of 132 mph. In addition to his aces, he had 13 double faults.

But Philippoussis' returns were also key. He converted on four out of five break points, while Kiefer converted only one of 10 chances.

Krajicek, meanwhile, is playing in only his second tournament since undergoing serious elbow surgery in November 2000.

The Dutchman is the only former champion left in the draw, following the defeats of Agassi and seven-time champion Pete Sampras.

In the first set, Krajicek found himself in a tight contest with Paradorn but hit an ace down the middle to clinch the tiebreaker. He was in command the rest of the way.

Paradorn, a new crowd favorite here, pressed his hands together in a Buddhist prayer gesture and bowed to all four corners of the court after the match -- just as he had after beating Agassi. He left to a standing ovation.

Information from Reuters and The Associated Press was used in this report.