The Associated Press

MELBOURNE, Australia - Andre Agassi needed every shot in his repertoire to beat hard-hitting Nicolas Escude at the Australian Open.

Agassi scrambled, volleyed and swatted baseline winners off his shoelaces to win 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Friday and advance to the fourth round.

The three-time champion was coming off a match in which he won 18 straight games. Against Escude, Agassi was constantly in trouble but extended his winning streak in the tournament to 17 matches.

"It was good to be out there a little longer, test yourself, put yourself in a lot of tough situations," said Agassi, the Australian Open champion in 1995, 2000 and '01.

"The fact that I'm still alive means I can use this for some more progress," he said.

Venus Williams had an easier match but struggled at times.

Williams, winner of four Grand Slam events and runner-up to sister Serena in the last three, trailed 1-4, 0-40 in the second, before pulling away to beat Germany's Anca Barna 6-1, 6-4.

In danger of falling behind 1-5, she saved three break points with a forehand volley, an ace and a deep backhand that Barna could not handle. Williams double faulted twice in the final game before overpowering the German, ranked 69th, with a crosscourt backhand.

"I feel better with every match," Williams said. "In the first set, I played very well. In the second, she lifted the level of her game. She started getting a lot of balls back and I started missing.

"At 4-1, I decided to miss a lot less," she said.

Williams is seeded second behind her sister, meaning they could meet only in the final. Serena missed last year's Australian Open because of a twisted ankle, but then beat Venus in the championship matches at the French Open, U.S. Open and Wimbledon.

"Last year was a tough year," Venus said. "I was always mentally and physically tired. I was always going the extra mile to do my best."

When she plays Serena, she said: "There are no mind games. I've never seen where they can be successful."

She next meets Australian Nicole Pratt, who beat No. 23rd-seeded Paola Suarez of Argentina.

Lindsay Davenport, the 2000 winner, advanced to the fourth round, routing No. 24 Tatiana Panova of Russia 6-2, 6-1.

"I played exactly the way I wanted to play, which was attacking a lot of balls and going for my shots," Davenport said. "Today they were falling in."

"Sometimes when you struggle through a match and maybe don't play your best, there is somewhat of a load taken off your shoulders. The next time you play you feel a lot more free on the court," she added.

Davenport, seeded ninth, missed most of last season after having knee surgery in January.

"I don't know when was the last time I was out of the top four seeds," she said. "I still feel like I belong at the top of the game."

Agassi wasn't quite at the top of his game, but his biggest problem was Escude's heavy backhand.

"Nicolas was hitting the ball really well, timing it superbly on the returns, putting me under a lot of pressure," Agassi said. "It's a good one to get through."

In the third set, Agassi saved two break points in the fifth game, four in the seventh and six in the ninth, which lasted 10 minutes.

"I felt like it was 0-30 or 15-40 every time I went to the baseline to serve," he said. "I hit a few good shots, hustled; he made a few errors."

Escude converted four of 20 break points in the match, while Agassi converted seven of 11.

The 29th-seeded Escude has a reputation for comebacks. The Frenchman rallied from three two-set deficits to reach the semifinals of the tournament in 1998.

Escude realized he wasted a number of chances Friday.

"When I think of the number of chances I didn't take, it was a catastrophe," he said.

Escude beat Agassi just once in five previous meetings, in 1999 when Agassi retired because of a shoulder injury.

"I've never been so close to beating him," he said. "I've never felt so bad after a defeat."

Agassi next plays Argentina's Guillermo Coria, a 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 winner over Finland's Jarkko Nieminen, who defeated 1999 champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov.

Mardy Fish also was frustrated Friday.

After beating fifth-seeded Carlos Moya, Fish was two games from beating Wayne Ferreira. But Ferreira rebounded from 1-4 in the third set and won 2-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-0.

"After the first two sets, I didn't think I had very much chance," Ferreira said. "After he gave me the third, it looked like he was starting to get a little lethargic and a little slower."

Fish was cited for a code violation in the first game of the final set for arguing a line call.

"I didn't say anything bad to the guy at all," Fish said. "He definitely missed that call, because it makes it 30-all instead of 15-40, and that's a huge game to hold serve and kind of get the momentum back."

Ninth-seeded Andy Roddick plays Spain's Fernando Vicente today, and James Blake, seeded No. 23, faces Alberto Martin.

Spain's Felix Mantilla, who had been a first-round loser in five consecutive Australian Opens, beat French Open champion Albert Costa 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-1, 6-3. French Open runner-up Juan Carlos Ferrero, the No. 4 seed, beat France's Fabrice Santoro 4-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5.

Seventh-seeded woman Daniela Hantuchova beat Australian Samantha Stosur 6-4, 6-2.

Open at a glance

Top men's winners: No. 2 Andre Agassi, No. 4 Juan Carlos Ferrero, No. 6 Roger Federer, No. 10 David Nalbandian, No. 12 Sebastien Grosjean, No. 31 Rainer Schuettler (walkover).

Top men's losers: No. 3 Marat Safin (walkover), No. 8 Albert Costa, No. 20 Xavier Malisse, No. 24 Nicolas Lapentti, No. 28 Fabrice Santoro, No. 29 Nicolas Escude.

Top women's winners: No. 1 Serena Williams, No. 2 Venus Williams, No. 4 Kim Clijsters, No. 5 Justine Henin-Hardenne, No. 7 Daniela Hantuchova, No. 8 Anastasia Myskina, No. 9 Lindsay Davenport, No. 12 Patty Schnyder, No. 18 Eleni Daniilidou, No. 20 Elena Bovina, No. 25 Meghann Shaughnessy.

Top women's losers: No. 11 Magdalena Maleeva, No. 16 Nathalie Dechy, No. 23 Paola Suarez, No. 24 Tatiana Panova, No. 26 Tamarine Tanasugarn, No. 28 Clarisa Fernandez, No. 32 Katarina Srebotnik.

Top stat: Fabrice Santoro saved 20 break points before losing in five sets to Juan Carlos Ferrero.

Quotable: "The poor guy can't keep a ball in the court. He never should have got rid of his two-handed backhand. ... I just don't see a good future for him." - Andre Agassi, recalling playing Pete Sampras in Rome in 1989.