Ivanisevic, the No 8 seed, needed 55 minutes to beat Leander Paes 6-2, 6-4 yesterday.

Conversely, Richard Krajicek survived a three-set match Friday night against Britain's Tim Henman, winning 5-7, 6-2, 7-6 (18-16). The 34-point tie-breaker was the longest on Tour for a singles match this year.

Paes, a doubles' specialist ranked 100th in singles, defeated top-seeded Pete Sampras in straight sets Thursday but said he couldn't handle Ivanisevic's serve.

``I could not really get into a groove of chipping and charging and playing my style of tennis,'' said Paes, the only unseeded player to reach the quarter-finals.

Ivanisevic never was in danger of being broken. He said he thought it was difficult for Paes to maintain his intensity after the win over Sampras.Ivanisevic will play defendingchamp Yevgeny Kafelnikov in the semifinals. Kafelnikov, the No 5 seed, defeated No 13 seed Bohdan Ulihrach, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 in a match that lasted more than two hours.

No 7 seed Karol Kucera defeated Guillaume Raoux 3-6, 6-3, 6-1. Raoux had knocked off defending US Open champ Patrick Rafter, the tournament's No 2 seed, on Thursday. Kucera will face Krajicek in the semifinals.

Agassi lifts game.

INDIANAPOLIS: Andre Agassi played a tougher opponent in yesterday's quarterfinal round of the RCA championships, so he elevated his game accordingly.

The result was a 6-2, 6-1 rout of 14th-seeded Wayne Ferreira. Agassi, the tournament's fifth seed, will play unseeded Ramon Delgado of Paraguay in Saturday's semi-final round.

Kristina cruises

NEW YORK: Third-seeded Kristina Brandi beat eighth-seeded Andriana Serra-Zanetti of Italy 6-4, 6-1 yesterday in the quarter-finals of the GHI Bronx Tennis Classic.

Brandi advanced to a semi-final match today against second-seeded Cara Black of Zimbabwe, a6-3, 6-3 winner over Austria's Patricia Wartusch.

In men's play, Britain's Mike Maclagem beat Jared Palmer 5-3, 7-5 to advance to a semi-final match against Japan's Goichi Motomura, a 6-3, 6-1 winner over France's Anthony Dupuis.

Novotna in semis

MONTREAL: While the fans had their eyes fixed on the new generation of women tennis players, veteran Jana Novotna moved into the semifinals of the Du Maurier Open.

Novotna, 29, won her 19th consecutive match 2-6, 6-1, 6-1 over 19-year-old upstart Magui Serna of Spain yesterday and now is two victories shy of a fourth straight tourament title on the WTA Tour.