NEW YORK: World No 1 Dinara Safina and three-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova crashed out of the US Open at the hands of teen titans on Saturday, aiding fellow

Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova’s title bid.

Petra Kvitova, a 19-year-old Czech, and US giant-killer Melanie Oudin, two weeks shy of her 18th

birthday, became the darlings of Flushing Meadows after their third-round shockers. Kvitova, ranked 72nd, saved three match points in the 12th game of the final set and eliminated Safina 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (7/5). Kvitova plays for a quarter-final spot against Belgian Yanina Wickmayer, who beat Italy’s Sara Errani 6-3, 6-4.

Oudin stunned former world No 1 Sharapova 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 by holding serve in

the final game after six consecutive service breaks to book a quarter-final berth against Russian 13th seed Nadia Petrova. Oudin followed her upset of former world No 1 Jelena Jankovic at Wimbledon with a second-round US Open ouster of fourth seed Elena Dementieva and added Sharapova to her victims list.

Reigning French Open champion and sixth seed Kuznetsova dispatched Israel’s Shahar Peer 7-5, 6-1, to become the highest remaining seed in her half of the draw. Kuznetsova, the 2004 US Open winner, plays Danish ninth seed Caroline Wozniacki — who beat Romanian Sorana Cirstea 6-3, 6-2 — for a last-eight spot against Oudin or Petrova, who ousted China’s Zheng Jie 6-4, 6-1.

Argentina’s Gisela Dulko ousted Kazak Yaroslava Shvedova 6-3, 6-4, and

will next face Ukraine’s Kateryna Bondarenko, who eliminated Australian qualifier Anastasia Rodionova (AUS) 7-6 (7/4), 6-4.

On the men’s side,

Andy Roddick’s hopes of a second US Open crown were blown apart by giant compatriot John Isner. Isner stunned the fifth seed and top US hope 7-6 (7/3), 6-3, 3-6, 5-7, 7-6 (7/5). There were scares also for top seed and defending champion Roger Federer and fourth seed Novak Djokovic.

Both dropped their opening sets but both bounced back to win in four. While defending champion and top seed Federer made it 14 in a row over former world No1 Lleyton Hewitt with a 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 win, fourth-seeded Djokovic struggled to see off the challenge of US wildcard Jesse Witten 6-7 (2/7), 6-3, 7-6 (7/2), 6-4.

With US No 2 Sam Querrey also going out in a 6-2, 7-5, 6-7 (6/8), 6-1 loss to French Open runner-up Robin Soderling of Sweden and James Blake losing 7-6 (7/2), 6-4, 6-4 to Tommy Robredo, Isner now represents the best chance of a first home win since Roddick in 2003.

Also through early on into the fourth round was wily Czech Radek Stepanek, who defeated Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 to set up a clash with Djokovic. Russian Nikolay Davydenko, seeded eight, cruised past Switzerland’s Marco Chiudinelli 6-4, 7-5, 7-5 and he will next play Soderling. Spanish 10th seed Verdasco, meanwhile, laboured to a 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (10/8), 1-6, 6-4 win over German veteran Tommy Haas.