A dazed Novak Djokovic was jettisoned from Wimbledon on Wednesday and his fellow Serb Ana Ivanovic was lucky not to suffer the same fate on a day of high drama at the All England Club. Third seed Djokovic became the biggest name to tumble out of the grasscourt championships when he was dumped in the second round by Marat Safin. The Russian broke down Djokovic's weak resistance for a 6-4, 7-6, 6-2 victory on a surface he claims to hate. Nathalie Dechy could have completed a bad day for the Serbs when she came within a whisker of knocking out world number one Ivanovic in a nerve-jangling contest on Court One. But a lucky netcord, at match point down in the second set, allowed Ivanovic to stage a great escape and she shrieked in delight after completing a pulsating 6-7, 7-6, 10-8 win over the unfortunate Dechy. “I couldn't believe it, I was so lucky,” Ivanovic said after surviving the three hour 24 minute thriller. Former champion Serena Williams and Amelie Mauresmo, however, will be cursing their luck after the duo headed for a third-round collision. Sixth seed Serena steered past Urszula Radwanska of Poland 6-4, 6-4 and Mauresmo, languishing as 29th seed after an indifferent season, eked out a 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 win over Spain's Virginia Ruano Pascual. Roger Federer's pursuit of a sixth consecutive title gathered momentum when he outsted Sweden's Robin Soderling 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 with the minimum of fuss. But for Djokovic, it was a day to forget. The Australian Open champion had been expected to roll over the former world number one, who had stepped on to Centre Court low on confidence and out of form. But on Wednesday, the unpredictable Russian rolled back the years to produce some magical tennis. As Safin whipped winner after winner past Djokovic, the Serb lost the will to fight and bowed out with two successive double faults, taking his tally to 10 for the match. “It was certainly a very bad day for me. I didn't do anything I was supposed to do,” said the 21-year-old, who reached at least the semifinals in his last five Grand Slams. It was certainly not the kind of performance one would have expected from the man tipped to reach the final by Bjorn Borg. Ivanovic had arrived at Wimbledon on cloud nine after capturing her maiden Grand Slam crown at the French Open just over two weeks ago but on Wednesday she crashed back to earth. Serving at 4-5 and 15-40 down in the second set, Ivanovic looked as if she would be joining Djokovic on the flight home to Belgrade. But she somehow managed to conjure a winner to save the first match point and the net came to her aid on the second. After smacking a ferocious groundstroke, Ivanovic could scarcely believe her eyes when she saw the ball hit the tape and then crawl over dead on the other side of the net. “Someone from upstairs made the ball roll over ... I felt like time stopped for a moment,” said a relieved Ivanovic. She went on to level the match at a set all but Dechy refused to wilt and kept piling on the pressure. In the 12th game of the decider, it was Ivanovic's turn to see two match points go begging but six games later – and an hour and 41 minutes after saving the two match points against her – the top seed finally punched away a forehand winner into the corner to deny the 97th ranked Dechy a famous victory. As a stunned Dechy slumped into her courtside chair and buried her head under a towel, a beaming Ivanovic celebrated her famous win by bending over and kissing the net. While the Serbs provided all the action on day three of the grasscourt championships, it was business as usual for others. Lleyton Hewitt, who like Serena was demoted to Wimbledon's infamous Court Two, avoided getting distracted by some unruly fans in the stands and walloped clay-loving Spaniard Albert Montanes 7-6, 6-0, 6-2. Fourth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova and France's Marion Bartoli, runner-up to Venus Williams 12 months ago, also emerged unscathed and 18th seed Nicole Vaidisova survived a second-set collapse to beat Australia's Samantha Stosur 6-2, 0-6, 6-4. – Reuters __
