MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) – Andy Roddick served 22 aces and hit 41 winners, including a passing shot played between his legs, and beat Austria’s Jurgen Melzer 6-2, 6-2, 7-5 Saturday to advance to the fourth round of the Australian Open.

The second-ranked Roddick had the crowd buzzing after starting his first service game with a pair of aces. He unleashed serves at up to 139 mph.

“I thought I moved really well. I got up two sets, the third one got a little tight, but I was able to get through,” said Roddick, who noted his serve is well short of his world record 155 mph. “I’m holding serve though, that’s the most important thing.”

In the third game, the 32nd-seeded Melzer drew Roddick into the net with a drop shot, then sent up a lob that landed just inside the line. Roddick raced back and flicked the ball back between his legs and down the line as Melzer barely moved.

He repeated the shot later in the match, but missed it the second time.

“I got greedy. The first one felt good, so I needed more,” he said.

Roddick was greedy with his serve. He saved three break points in the fourth game, which went to deuce four times.

They were Melzer’s only looks at a break point.

Tim Henman hit a reflex volley behind his back, catching Nicolay Davydenko by surprise, to rival Roddick for the shot of the day.

But the ball Henman smashed into the stands in anger in the third set was his cleanest hit in a 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 third-round loss to the 26th-seeded Davydenko.

The seventh-seeded Henman was a semifinalist at the French and U.S. Opens last year and a quarterfinalist at Wimbledon. But he seemed distracted Saturday, making 32 unforced errors and five double-faults.

“I feel totally gutted, really,” Henman said. “My expectations were obviously for a lot more.”

Davydenko hit 31 clean winners, mostly on his forehand, and broke Henman’s serve in the opening games of the first and third sets. He had never reached the second week of a Grand Slam tournament in 15 previous attempts.

Davydenko next faces 12th-seeded Guillermo Canas, a 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 winner over Radek Stepanek. French Open finalist Guillermo Coria beat former No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-3, 6-2, 6-1.

Women’s French Open champion Anastasia Myskina joined Russia’s two other Grand Slam title holders in the fourth round when American Lisa Raymond withdrew from their match Saturday.

Top-ranked Lindsay Davenport beat 15-year-old Czech qualifier Nicole Vaidisova 6-2, 6-4 to move into a fourth-round match against 13th-seeded Karolina Sprem, who ousted Russia’s Elena Likhovtseva 6-4, 6-3.

Raymond tore abdominal muscles in the first game of a second-round doubles match on Friday and her status was in doubt for the third-round singles.

The 31-year-old American reached the quarterfinals at Melbourne Park last year, upsetting then No. 3-seeded Venus Williams in the third round.

“I’m extremely disappointed because I couldn’t have asked to play better in my first two matches,” said Raymond, who hopes to return for the Indian Wells tournament in California starting March 9.

Fourth-ranked Maria Sharapova, the Wimbledon champion, and U.S. Open winner Svetlana Kuznetsova, seeded fifth, won their third-round matches Friday, advancing along with No. 7 Serena Williams and No. 2 Amelie Mauresmo.

Mauresmo beat Serbian teenager Ana Ivanovic 6-2, 7-5 and Williams ended her 6-1, 6-4 win over India’s wild-card entry Sania Mirza with an ace.

No. 8 Venus Williams was to play a fourth-round match later Saturday.

Andre Agassi, a four-time Australian Open winner, was down 4-1 in the first set against Taylor Dent before rallying for a 7-5, 7-6 (3), 6-1 victory Friday.

Agassi committed a miserly six unforced errors – none in the third set – and pounded Dent with an arsenal of groundstrokes.

Agassi came into the tournament with a slight tear in a tendon in his right hip. He showed no signs that it would slow him.

“I felt good and I felt healthy,” he said. “No problems.”

It was a day of tumbles and torn muscles.

Fourth-seeded Marat Safin, the runner-up last year, twisted his right ankle and fell on his face in the fourth set against 28th-seeded Mario Ancic. He got up, put more tape on his ankle and beat Ancic 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Defending champion Roger Federer led Jarkko Nieminen 6-3, 5-2 when the Finnish player retired with a torn abdominal muscle, giving the top-ranked Swiss his career-best 24th consecutive win.

French Open champion Gaston Gaudio, seeded 10th, needed treatment on both thighs before losing a 4-hour, 21-minute marathon to No. 20 Dominik Hrbaty.

Agassi hasn’t lost to an American at the Australian Open since falling to Vincent Spadea in the fourth round in 1999. He’s lost only once at Melbourne Park since, when Safin ended his 26-match winning streak in last year’s semifinals.

Agassi could get another shot at Safin in the semis. But he first has to get past 11th-seeded Joachim Johansson, a 6-foot-6 Swede he’ll face for the first time, and a potential quarterfinal against Federer.

Joachim closed a 6-3, 3-6, 5-7, 7-6 (2), 13-11 win over No. 24 Feliciano Lopez and with an ace – his 38th.

Federer next faces Marcos Baghdatis, a Cypriot qualifier who upset 13th-seeded Tommy Robredo.

Federer, after dominating 2004 with 11 titles, including three majors, realizes he’s everyone’s biggest target. When he lost his opening service to Nieminen, spectators were aghast.

“Now I feel when I get broken, people are surprised,” Federer said. “I think they’re so used to me winning, people don’t understand when I’m losing. It’s not that simple.”

AP-ES-01-21-05 2357EST