New York ? When he was a kid, living nearby and taking tennis lessons in Harlem, James Blake would go the U.S. Open as a fan. He’d get in with tickets for the cheap seats, then look for a chance to sneak down to courtside for a closer look.

These days, Blake is front and center. He’s featured in magazine fashion spreads, gets props from the Olsen twins at MTV’s Video Music Awards — oh, yeah, and he’s bolstering his status as part of a crop of rising American stars.

Coming up with some spectacular shots at key moments against a player he’s known for a decade, Blake held on to beat 1995 NCAA champion Sargis Sargsian 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (6) Friday to reach the Open’s third round for a second straight year.

He joined fellow up-and-comers Taylor Dent and Robby Ginepri in the round of 32, and Andy Roddick advanced by defeating Ivan Ljubicic, 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-3, 7-6 (8), Friday night.

Along with Mardy Fish, who was seeded 24th but was upended Thursday, they’re looking more and more capable of succeeding Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, et al.

“Before, it might have been a little bit of hype,” said Blake, ranked 35th. “Now I feel we’re showing people. We’re doing our best. We really care about Davis Cup. We’re starting to make some waves at big tournaments. We’re starting to make things happen.”

That truly would be an understatement if the 23-year-old Blake claims another victory at the National Tennis Center: His next opponent is Wimbledon champion Roger Federer. The No. 2-seeded Federer defeated Jean-Rene Lisnard 6-1, 6-2, 6-0.

Blake lost to 2001 champion Lleyton Hewitt at the past two Opens and has been to the fourth round of a Grand Slam tournament only once.

“Hometown kid. They could rig a draw for me or something. I guess they didn’t get around to that,” Blake said, smiling. “I’m going to go down swinging. I’m going to go for everything. There’s no reason why I should feel like if I play well, I’m definitely going to lose. He’s human, he’s going to make mistakes.”

Other winners Friday: No. 8 Rainer Schuettler; No. 10 Jiri Novak, who beat Jan-Michael Gambill of the United States in straight sets; No. 12 Sjeng Schalken; Hewitt’s Wimbledon conqueror Ivo Karlovic; and No. 22 Younes El Aynaoui. Seeded players exiting included No. 19 Agustin Calleri, No. 25 Albert Costa, No. 9 Daniela Hantuchova and No. 13 Vera Zvonareva, the Russian teen who surprised Venus Williams at the French Open.

No. 17 Meghann Shaughnessy beat Zvonareva 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 and gets No. 1-ranked Kim Clijsters in the fourth round. Hantuchova lost 6-2, 6-4 to Tamarine Tanasugarn, who raised a fist, shrieked with joy and jogged to the net to shake hands after Hantuchova sent a forehand long to make it 5-3 in the second set. Tamarine eventually realized her victory celebration was premature, laughing sheepishly when a replay was shown in the stadium.

Lindsay Davenport waves after defeating Melinda Czink. Davenport won, 6-0, 6-2, at the U.S. Open tennis tournament Friday in New York.