NEW YORK -- Three times Yevgeny Kafelnikov had met Gustavo Kuerten in a Grand Slam, and all three times he served as Kuerten's personal quarterfinal valet to a French Open title.

	Top seed Gustavo Kuerten looks dejected during a break in his match against Yevgeny Kafelnikov on Thursday. Kafelnikov defeated Kuerten 6-4, 6-0, 6-3.

This time, Kafelnikov told himself -- on the hard court of the National Tennis Center, thousands of miles from the comforting clay of Roland Garros -- it would not happen again.

"I showed him from the first point on that I wasn't going to give up the match, like easily, like perhaps he would have thought," the Russian said Thursday. "I just didn't want to have previous experience happen to that match like it did three times in the French Open, where I'm having the match in my hand and just not able to close it out.

"Today was different story."

Kafelnikov stunned the world's No. 1-ranked player in a 6-4, 6-0, 6-3 match that was over in 92 minutes. Kafelnikov, the No. 7 seed, advanced to Saturday's U.S. Open semifinals and awaits the winner of Thursday night's other quarterfinal: Lleyton Hewitt vs. Andy Roddick, the young American.

Kuerten, oddly laconic throughout the match, lost 11 consecutive games at one point. Was he tired from an epic five-set match with Max Mirnyi in the third round? Was the Brazilian's left thigh bothering him? Or was it merely the way Kafelnikov was playing?

"Maybe a little bit of everything," Kuerten said. "I didn't have any energy to step up and play my best. I think my first set went away and then I didn't find myself comfortable running and playing one or two points well, back to back.

"I didn't really feel myself into the game."

Why, exactly?

"Don't know," Kuerten answered. "We are human, no? I am not a machine. Sometimes it's like this."

It was the second semifinal berth here for Kafelnikov, a two-time Grand Slam champion. He defeated Richard Krajicek in a five-set thriller in the 1999 U.S. Open quarterfinals before losing to Andre Agassi in the semis.

In those three previous French quarters, Kuerten won the first set each time, but Kafelnikov always rallied back. In 1997 and 2000, Kafelnikov actually won the second and third sets, before wilting and allowing Kuerten to win the final two sets. Earlier this year, Kafelnikov lost control of an even match in a third-set tiebreaker before falling in the fourth.

That memory prompted Kafelnikov to try a new tact. This match featured an aggressive Kafelnikov, who occasionally strayed from his baseline game and threw in a few serve-and-volley points. Maybe it was the tennis tip from USA commentator John McEnroe.

"I talked to Mac a few times in the booth," Kafelnikov said. "He was actually giving me a hard time: 'How come such accomplished player like you are, doesn't serve and volley as much as any other guys.' I said, 'John, my game [is] working the point on the baseline and finish at the net. I don't feel comfortable when I'm serving and volleying.'

"Like I said, today was different story. I knew I had to put pressure on Guga when he was returning."

Kuerten looked fine as both players eased into the match. In fact, it was Kuerten who put the pressure on Kafelnikov's serve, earning three break points on the fifth and seventh games. Kafelnikov saved them all, two with aces, and Kuerten found himself at 4-5, serving to level the first set.

When he finally regained consciousness, Kuerten was alarmed to discover that Kuerten had won 11 straight games. The cathartic 4-5 game was the one that provided critical mass.

Kafelnikov actually held three break (and set) points, but Kuerten saved them all, with a beautiful cross-court forehand winner and two tight backhands from the Russian. Kuerten had a game point himself, but pulled a forehand long. After the umpire overruled a non-call to give Kafelnikov another set point, Kuerten had three chances to force it back to deuce but hit three straight cross-court forehands right at Kafelnikov. The last one was re-directed with a backhand slice and touched down inches inside the near corner, a clean winner.

The second set went all of 21 minutes, after Kafelnikov ran out to a 5-0 lead. And the third, despite some token resistance from Kuerten, was only a formality.

Kuerten, who will retain his No. 1 status, will not be seen as anything beyond the dreaded "clay-court specialist" until he makes a bigger impression in a major that isn't the French Open. Kafelnikov explained why Kuerten's game is peculiarly suited to clay.

"Clay definitely makes him unbeatable because his ground strokes are very -- when he has time, he's preparing groundstrokes better than anybody. But seems to me on fast surface, he doesn't have that, you know, few seconds which is necessary for him to create his own game like he does on clay."

Kafelnikov called it his biggest victory since he won the gold medal at the Sydney Olympics last year and, before that, his quarterfinal victory here over Krajicek. Now the possibility of an all-Russian final in the United States' championship -- fellow countryman Marat Safin faces Pete Sampras in Saturday's other semifinal -- looms as a distinct possibility.

"I mean, I cannot even describe it to you," Kafelnikov said, clearly moved by the thought of two Russians in the semis. "It's never happened before. Would have been even better if we are both in the final." Greg Garber is a senior writer for ESPN.com.