KAFELNIKOV AIMS HIGH.

Byline: Steve Wilstein Associated Press 

A cocky Russian who talks big and plays fast, Yevgeny Kafelnikov issued a warning today to his rivals at the Australian Open: "Watch out!"

Kafelnikov, dubbed AK-47 by other players, blasted past MaliVai Washington 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals. The way Kafelnikov figures it, he can beat anyone left in the tournament in the next three rounds and capture his first Grand Slam title.

"I've got $10 that says you'll win," a television interviewer told him as he walked off court.

"Make it $100, I won't disappoint you," Kafelnikov responded. The legal sports books aren't so sure, making him 11-2 behind favorites Andre Agassi, Michael Chang and Boris Becker.

That's quite a leap of faith for someone who's never gotten past the semis of a major, someone who has a solid baseline game but no huge weapon, someone who is ranked No. 6 and may have to play Becker next.

But shyness and insecurity are not problems for Kafelnikov, even if players like Agassi say he ought to prove himself a little more before popping off.

"The player who I never won against is out of the tournament, Pete Sampras," Kafelnikov said. "Everybody else, I beat them. So why can't I win the Australian Open? I feel like I am in very good shape now. I am completely satisfied with the whole aspect of my game, and I've got enough confidence to win it."

In the meantime, everything Mark Philippoussis did right against Pete Sampras he did wrong Monday when his fling with fame ended.

Rattled by eight double-faults, sliced and diced silly by fellow Aussie Mark Woodforde, the 19-year-old Philippoussis meekly succumbed 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 two days after knocking Sampras out of the No. 1 ranking.

Philippoussis lacked the composure and control he showed under the closed roof against Sampras. The pattern of his defeat became apparent as early as the third game of the match, when he double-faulted three times to offset a pair of aces and dropped serve on a fourth break point.

Woodforde, a 30-year-old who was once the top-ranked Australian, reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam event for the first time by teasing Philippoussis with angled slices, hard groundstrokes, even a moonball that sent the teen scurrying back far behind the baseline. When Philippoussis caught up to that moonball and sent it back, Woodforde put away the game with a forehand winner down the line.

No. 7 Thomas Enqvist of Sweden also moved into the quarters, beating Italy's Renzo Furlan 7-5, 6-0, 6-3.

Kafelnikov had been worried only about Sampras, who beat him in their four previous matches. But with Sampras gone in the third round, a loser to Mark Philippoussis, Kafelnikov rates his own chances pretty high. He also rates the 19-year-old Philippoussis' chance pretty low.

"I was in the same situation as Philippoussis was when I played the No. 1 player in the world in 1994, the second round against Sampras," said Kafelnikov, who turns 22 next month. "I had nothing to lose and I was the same age as him right now. He has enough confidence."

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PHOTO

Yevgeny Kafelnikov celebrates his win over MaliVai Washington in the

Australian Open. Associated Press