Pete Sampras called the speed of the Melbourne courts "ridiculous" on Wednesday, although he had little real cause for complaint.

The third-seeded American won his second round match in straight sets, unlike powerful fellow seeds Todd Martin and Richard Krajicek.

Five of the leading 16 men in the tournament had already failed in the first round.

In Wednesday's second round they were joined on the sidelines by eighth seed Martin and ninth seed Krajicek.

Logically, the former Wimbledon champion Krajicek ought to have benefitted from faster courts.

But he was sent crashing 2-6 6-3 6-1 6-3 by Frenchman Nicolas Escude.

It continued a miserable recent run in Melbourne, with the Dutchman failing to get past the third round since a semi-final appearance in 1992.

In theory the fast surface should also have given Martin more than an edge against Spanish clay court specialist Fernando Vicente.

But the American was shocked 6-4 2-6 3-6 6-3 7-5 in a three-hour match.

"I didn't have nearly enough gas left in the tank," said 29-year-old Martin, who complained of being "terribly tired".

Despite his complaints about the resurfaced courts at Melbourne, Sampras is on course as he seeks to beat Roy Emerson's record of 12 Grand Slam titles.

He crushed Swede Mikael Tillstrom 6-3 7-6 6-1, but refused to talk about records, or an anticipated semi-final meeting with top seed Andre Agassi..

"You can't look too far ahead. It's a kiss of death," said Sampras.

However he was keen to discuss the relaid courts at Melbourne.

"It's even quicker than Wimbledon in a way. These conditions are really pretty ridiculous.

"There's nothing we can do about it now. I'm sure next year it will be a little slower."

Sampras now plays Zimbabwean qualifier Wayne Black in the third round.

The only seeded player left in his quarter of the draw is Briton Tim Henman, who won his match when Rainer Schuttler retired with a stomach muscle injury.

Like Sampras, Agassi also breezed through his latest test, spending just 93 minutes on centre court as he ousted Dutchman Sjeng Schalken 7-5 6-0 6-3.

"You just want to stay workmanlike and get through it," Agassi said of his early progress.

The biggest server of all at this year's Open - Australian Mark Philippoussis - is still alive but is having to work hard.

After being taken to five sets by Israeli Noam Okun in the first round, the Melbourne player met another qualifier in his home town in Wednesday's last match.

Dutchman Raemon Sluiter took the second set off the 16th seed, who raised his game to win 6-1 2-6 7-6 (7/4) 6-1.

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