ANOTHER AMERICAN DOWN

Taylor Dent’s fine Wimbledon run ended yesterday at the hands of Lleyton Hewitt, 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (7), 6-3. Dent had trouble with his serve, committing 13 double faults. He also took exception to a call that he felt was influenced by the revved up Hewitt. Chair umpire Enric Molina had overruled a linesman’s out call on a Hewitt groundstroke and ordered the point replayed. Hewitt protested and Molina quickly awarded the point to Hewitt, as the ball was out of Dent’s reach.

“You better stand by it, and not because he’s bitching,” Dent said to Molina. “That is not correct what you did right there.”

With Dent out, Andy Roddick is the last American standing.

FEDERER CRUISES

The world’s no. 1 player did yesterday what he always does at Wimbledon: win handily. Roger Federer scored a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (6) fourth-round victory over Juan Carlos Ferrero. The third set had its tense moments, especially in the tiebreak, where Ferrero held a 5-4 lead. But the Swiss ended the match with a body blow of a serve that handcuffed Ferrero. Federer next takes on Chile’s Fernando Gonzalez, one of the tour’s biggest hitters and a surprise quarterfinalist here. Gonzalez, who has yet to drop a set, defeated Mikhail Youzhny 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5), 6-3.

VENUS DEFENDS FAMILY HONOR

Venus Williams was not about to let Jill Craybas knock two Williams sisters out of Wimbledon. Williams dominated her fourth-round match against the undersized Craybas, winning 6-0, 6-2. Williams won 13 of 14 points at the net and won 80% of points on her first serve. Today she takes on Mary Pierce, who defeated Italy’s Flavia Pannetta 6-3, 6-1.

MYSKINA FLIRTS WITH DISASTER

Anastasia Myskina insists on squeezing every last ounce of tennis out of her body. Yesterday she prevailed over her friend, fellow Russian Elena Dementieva, 1-6, 7-6 (9), 7-5. In the second set she recovered from a 3-0 deficit before saving two match points in the tiebreak. She then blew two match points in the third set before she recovered. Asked how she felt after playing nine hours over four matches, Myskina said, “Perfect.”

SHARAPOVA SHARP AGAIN

Maria Sharapova continued to play like the defending champion yesterday, defeating France’s Nathalie Dechy 6-4, 6-2. She hit 22 winners and connected on her first serve 76% of the time. Today, she faces Nadia Petrova, another Russian (there are four of them in the final eight). Petrova defeated Kveta Peschke of the Czech Republic, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (7), 6-3, saving two match points along the way.