Andre Agassi and Mark Philippoussis silenced Asian euphoria with contrasting second-round victories at the Australian Open on Wednesday.
Agassi stopped South Korean Lee Hyung-taik dead in his tracks with a 6-1, 6-0, 6-0 thrashing while Paradorn Srichaphan's 3-6, 6-1, 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 defeat to home favourite Philippoussis left Asian hopes all but over at the tournament.
With Agassi's ruthless display, seldom has Melbourne Park witnessed a more one-sided match and seldom has a player been so outclassed.
A shell-shocked Lee was left almost lost for words.
"I don't know what to say, I don't know what happened," the embarrassed Korean said through an interpreter.
"He really taught me a lesson. I think I need to go back to school."
Coming into the Open, Asian tennis was on an all-time high with Lee and Paradorn both having won a tournament in the first two weeks of the season.
SUPERPOWER NATIONS
But on a day of drama at Melbourne Park, players from two tennis superpower nations threw cold water on their jubilation.
To draw second seed and three-times champion Agassi as early as the second round had been a cruel slice of luck for Lee but even so his fall from grace could hardly have been more dramatic under a scorching Australian sun.
The son of a potato farmer had become a hero in his homeland, after becoming the first Korean to win an ATP event last weekend.
But that momentous victory at the Sydney International, where as a qualifier he beat world number four Juan Carlos Ferrero in the final, swiftly became no more than a fuzzy memory on centre court.
The vocal South Korean contingent had rated Lee's chances against Agassi but reality hit home fast within minutes of the start.
After winning the opening game of the match, Lee lost the next 18 as seven times grand slam winner Agassi romped to an 80- minute victory.
"Needless to say I felt great about everything," Agassi said. "I was hitting the ball with conviction...my errors were down, my winners were up.
"Still, for the match to go that way was a bit unexpected."
PAINFUL REMINDER
If it was unexpected for Agassi, the result was a painful reminder of shortcomings for Lee. "I felt like I was hitting against a brick wall and I know I'll have to work harder now," he said.
There is no need for Thai 11th seed Paradorn to adopt such drastic measures after his titanic floodlit tussle with resurgent Australian Philippoussis.
Paradorn played his heart out on centre court but could not get past an inspired Philippoussis playing in front of home town fans.
"I just tried to enjoy the match as much I can," Paradorn said. "I knew it was going to be loud and every point exciting.
"It was fun, it was a great game."
His words were upbeat but his face told of his disappointment.
An obscure Uzbek qualifier, 185th-ranked Vadim Kutsenko, is the only Asian still in the men's draw.
Former runner-up Carlos Moya also exited after losing 3-6, 7-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 to American Mardy Fish.
Women's second seed Venus Williams did have fun, however. After a rusty start in Monday's opening match, she obliterated fellow American Ansley Cargill 6-3, 6-0 to reach the third round. "That was definitely a lot better," she smiled.
GETTING TIRED
Ninth seed Lindsay Davenport, looking leaner and fitter than in previous years, also moved into the third round after outlasting Iroda Tulyaganova 6-7, 6-4, 7-5.
"I was getting tired... it was long sets, long points. More than anything I wanted to finish it off," she said.
While Lee was left to lick his wounds, Anna Kournikova suffered the heaviest grand slam defeat of her eight-year career, losing 6-0, 6-1 to fifth-seeded Belgian Justine Henin-Hardenne.
She rushed from the court immediately after her 48-minute ordeal ended, red-faced and clearly upset by the one-sided humiliation.
More than an hour later, make-up reapplied and wearing a black tracksuit top and black cap, Kournikova put a brave face on the debacle.
"We were both on the court...I think it was a match," she said.
Her previous worst showing at a grand slam event was when she lost 6-2, 6-1 to Steffi Graf in the fourth round of the 1996 U.S. Open. Back then Kournikova was a major new talent with an exciting game.
Now, aged just 21, she is little more than a curiosity, a sideshow. A tennis mannequin loved by schoolboy fans but no longer feared by opponents.
"I really had no weapons against her today," was the Russian's candid verdict. "I tried to find a way...but it was too hard."
Henin-Hardenne was delighted, if a little bemused, by the ease of her win. "Sometimes it was just, yeah...amazing," she said.
